Where Are We Now?
by AmyNChan
Summary: "I want you to look after your brother if your mother and I are unable to...There will come a time when you need to remember to do so more than ever." Now is that time. Where are they? Can they look out for each other? Can they find their way home without revealing who they are? The test of family is strong when you cannot be true with those you love. T for situations
1. The Start Of It All

_**14AmyChan: I own all of these characters. Well, except for a few, but you'll figure out who **__**they**__** are later. XD Until then, enjoy. *^_^***_

"Time for dinner!" the babysitter hollered, calling to attention the two children in the backyard. Two sets of eyes—both around the same age—looked up from their personal machinations. She had been holding a seemingly one sided conversation. He had been very interested in a bent spoon. Hurriedly, they made their way into the house, where their babysitter had already set the table for them.

"Thank you for the food," the girl and babysitter recited before digging into the meal. The younger of the two ate with gusto, the latter was more polite. The boy smiled as he ate his food in silence.

"When's mommy and daddy coming home?" the girl asked loudly, speaking the question for both children for the fifth time that week. They looked to their sitter in expectation, and she could only offer them a sigh.

"They should return from their business trip by tomorrow," she explained. The female child rolled her eyes, as she always did when their sitter called what their parents did 'business trips'. It was _obvious_ that the woman did not believe in the awesome.

Her brother, however, expressed his enthusiasm through a smile and the slight quickening of his eating of food. He was quite happy to hear his parents would return. He had so much to show them!

* * *

"Good night, little ones," the babysitter said quietly as she shut the door. The children were to go to sleep instantly, as they normally pretended to do. What the sitter was unaware of, however, was the fact that the two would stay up late, conversing for an hour or so in the quietest of ways possible, and then tip-toe to their parents room a mere hour after being placed into their beds.

"I think we can make it to Mommy and Daddy's room now without Yakuza-san hearing," the girl stated out loud for the sake of hearing herself speak. Her brother was about to reply—telling his sister that such a feat was possible for them, but he did not want to at the moment—when a sudden noise startled him out of such thoughts.

_Crash!_

The two children sat perfectly still in their beds for a moment, listening. They could hear something going on downstairs, but they knew it was not the TV. Their babysitter, Yakuza-san, did not like it.

_Thud, thud, thud, thud!_

The heavy footsteps sounded very close. The girl leapt out of her bed and hurried to her brother's, easily pulling him out of his bed and pulling him into the closet. Her intent was to protect him no matter what. Her hope was that the footsteps would not open their door before they made it to their destination.

"I thought you said I'd get half!" Yakuza-san's voice came from the other side of the door. It caused the young boy to halt in his tracks, worry clear on his sleepy face. It was obvious that he was still processing when his sister jerked him forward and into the closet. She began to bury themselves in the clothes and thanked God that she was quite a messy person.

_Slam! Sliiide._

The sudden noises startled the children, but they dared not make a sound. A gruff voice—which was unfamiliar to them—began to speak.

"Find them, but don't kill them. The buyers want them alive," it ordered. Numerous thudding boots sounded all over their home. The little girl held her breath when the door to their shared bedroom opened with the stomp of a mighty boot. She held onto her brother, trying to stay strong for both of them.

She thanked her lucky stars that her brother was half-asleep anyways.

The boots walked over to the bed and stopped. She could see from her hiding place that the man bent over quickly and searched under the bed for the children. He looked like a very mean man. She did_ not_ want to be found by him.

"Why are we going through so much crap for a couple of brats, anyway?" another voice asked. It was then that she noticed there were two men in the room. She narrowed her eyes, hoping that by doing so she could be brave. What did they want, anyways?

"Superstitious old coot thinks they'll give him good luck," the man by the bed rambled. "Personally, I don't believe it, but if he's willing to pay _that much_, I'll do pretty much anything."

"I see," the first stated, and the five-year-old girl suddenly felt a patch of cold air hit the top of her head. She looked up with wide blue eyes and saw that a third man had taken her cover and was smiling in cruel victory. As much as she hated to admit it, she was powerless to stop the man from placing a rag over her nose. Her last conscious thoughts were that of being ripped from her brother and having the memories of the past few minutes of her kidnapper flow into her.

* * *

_Where…am I?_ were his first thoughts as he came to consciousness. Instinctively, he knew that he had risen with the sun, as he always did. He always rose very early, always encompassed in warm blankets, and always ready to share a morning read with daddy while they waited for mommy and his (slightly) older sister to awaken.

But this time, he was not encompassed in warm blankets. He felt a very cold and hard material through his pajamas. He felt himself being jostled, as though on a very long and careless ride. He opened his eyes quietly.

What met his conscious and alert gaze first was his sister, half-dazed and disoriented. He could tell the murderous thoughts that were in her head as clearly as if he were thinking them himself, even if the thoughts were slowed heavily.

_That's not good..._ he thought, panic slowly rising in his stomach. He looked around, now aware that they were in the back of a car. It looked almost like the van that mommy and daddy used when they went on cases.

_Wake up..._ he silently begged of his sister, knowing that if he could somehow get over to her, she would become alert. The young boy wiggled towards his twin, realizing that his hands and feet were bound, and his mouth gagged. Not like _that_ would be of much use, anyways...

_Just another..._ he thought as he finally made contact with his sister. His intent was to shove some of his alertness into her. However, it worked exactly in reverse.

He got what was running through her mind.

Yakuza-san's betrayal.

The purchase of the twins.

The surveillance of the twins' gifts.

The planning.

The fake case that mommy and daddy were on to lure them away.

How the trap had worked.

How the plan was formed so that way the twins would never see their parents again.

Images and voices flashed through his young mind quickly, each passing before his mind's eye the instant they were understood. He observed everything, taking it all in. It went faster. And faster. And faster. Colors and voices, identities and thoughts all swirled together, causing one large pit of despair inside his stomach.

He panicked.

* * *

The first thing she noticed when she somehow got a burst of energy from her brother's naturally awake mind was that something was wrong. Very wrong.

She did not mean the van and the kidnapping and all of the events from the previous night. She already knew about that and was working on a plan to get her and her brother out of there. No, it was something else, a problem that she knew could turn very bad, very quickly.

Her brother was panicking.

She looked around the car, the only difference that her brother's newfound state of mind caused being the slight change in temperature. But she knew it would not be long before the windows would rattle, the men would get scared, they would swerve off the road, and they would all land in a ditch, where the children would be forced to walk with them and they would probably end up in a much worse situation than they already were in.

She had already been inside their minds. At the slightest hiccup in their 'plans', they could very well be killed.

She did the only thing she could do, writhe slightly in the direction of her brother and tap foreheads with him, siphoning the energy away from him. She held it in the pit of her stomach, as her _sensei_ had showed her how. She pulled more and more of the rapidly gathering energy away, keeping her brother at a safe level and knowing that he should stop panicking soon.

But he did not.

If anything, his state of mind only got worse. The energy was coming in droves now, and it was becoming almost too hot for her to carry all by herself. She tried to push some back, but she could not. He was still overflowing, and giving any back would probably hurt him!

"_I want you to look after your brother if your mother and I are unable to...There will come a time when you need to remember to do so more them ever."_

She concentrated even more, siphoning the energy away from her twin with renewed vigor. Daddy had _said_ something like this could happen, and she had _promised_ to take care of her brother. To always look after him.

She kept siphoning the energy away, kept hoping that her brother would calm down. She tried to send him calming thoughts, but they were for naught. It took her a while to realize that he was blocking her out.

"I thought you said you had this car fixed!" one of the men from the front complained as they heard the windows rattle.

"I did!" the second grunted angrily, slapping the window as if it would quell the sudden tremors. The small girl tried to siphon more energy, but it was becoming white-hot in her core. It was beginning to hurt even worse.

"Make sure the brats aren't awake," another voice ordered, to which several scoffed.

"You actually _believe_ that crap the buyer thinks about those two?" a high-pitched voice asked, a voice which the children recognized instantly. The small boy felt the sting of betrayal while the little girl wanted to hiss at how someone they had _trusted_ would have _sold them_ to a _collector!_

She let her control on her brother's energy slip a little bit, and the car rocked heavily.

"Did you just hit a pothole?" one of the men up front screamed as several cursed.

"Do you think I just went over a freaking pothole?" the driver returned angrily, joining in the chorus of curses. Some turned to the children in fear, and one of them was holding a gun.

"He didn't want _both_ of them, right? Just the boy?" the trigger happy kidnapper asked as he fiddled with the safety. That in no way helped the young boy's mental state. He shifted closer to his sister and tried to keep all of the men in his sights, protecting her as many of the men murmured their agreement.

"If it makes you feel better, shoot her, but don't blame me when you have to dump the body of a five year old little girl on the side of the road," a deep voice called out, obviously disgusted. "I can't believe you guys are getting spooked by a little pothole."

Still some of the men shifted, and she felt more energy coming from her brother. She could not hold any more. She had to let it out. But she never had this much before! If she let it go all at once, she could blow the car up or worse!

"Shoot her!" one of the men cried, feeling the car jerk horribly one more time. The safety clicked off.

And she panicked.

* * *

"Where...?" the little girl asked, looking around herself. She was used to being awake. She was used to being asleep. Heck, every now and again she was used to the Astral Plane, where multiple orbs of light floated around peaceably so long as she did not touch them. She was aware of her right hand gripped tightly onto something, and when she looked, she found it to be the hand of her younger (by four minutes) brother.

So, wherever she was, she had her brother with her. She was not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

The last thing she remembered was releasing all of the energy at once because fear had clouded her mind for a split-second.

Before she could begin berating herself for failing to keep her brother and his energy safe, she felt something. Actually, a lot of somethings. Like pulls, each attempting to guide her in a different direction. She looked around herself, noticing at last the multiple strings that were in front of her, each waggling in the air to be pulled upon.

"Which one am I supposed to pull?" she questioned out loud. Talking out loud helped her to think, and she narrowed her eyes, trying to reach out with her senses which was the safest to follow through on.

Finally, she reached out with her left hand and grabbed a string. It was little more than a silver blue string, waving the most innocently, almost as through a passing thought. She grabbed it, and held on tightly.

And then she saw black.

**_14AmyChan: Prologues, gotta love 'em. In any event, while I will try to be a constant and vigilant updater, I make no guarantees. XD Wish me luck~! *^_^*_**


	2. Somewhere Safe

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I finally managed to update on **__**something**__**! XDD**_

_**Gene: And this is where the disclaimer comes in, right?**_

_**AmyNChan: Absolutely, since I don't actually **__**own**__** you and all… XD**_

_**Gene: Nope! And now that that's out of the way, on with the story!**_

_**AmyNChan: Yay! *^_^***_

Eugene Davis was floating through the air, as he normally did. Being tied to the living world via two separate people in two separate continents allowed one to travel between the two said idiots in any way that they so chose. In Gene's case, he was now choosing to float lazily between one and the other. It had done him good to take the time to float over the vast ocean, noting with a sense of relief that he no longer had to endure seasickness.

For some reason, while lakes understandably bothered him in his afterlife state, the ocean did not perturb him as much as it could have.

Now, almost two months after he had left Noll's side to meander over to Mai, he was midway through Japan, allowing his mind to wander where it may as he floated along. And, for a dead guy, Gene had quite a few things to think about.

Ever since he had died six years ago, it had taken Noll close to two years to find his body. During that time, Gene—through Mai—had witnessed his brother become less closed off. In England, his idiotic twin had always shut down people trying to get close to him, always passing them off as trying to get to Gene. While the older twin did not mind the company, he had often worried for his antisocial brother. When Noll had come to Japan, things had changed.

A stubborn girl named Mai Taniyama had barreled headfirst into his brother's life, and Gene for his part was quite impressed with her tenacity. _So_ he had played the switching game so she thought he was his brother. It had been great fun.

For a while, at least.

Until he realized that the stubborn girl was falling for his brother. He had, unfortunately, learned that far too late. He had intended on correcting her that day at the lake, but he had known that it was a lost cause. So he had left her with his brother in order to clear his head. By the time had had managed to come back to the group, Noll and Mai were avoiding each other like the plague, and Gene wondered if he had done right in pretending to be his brother for so long.

Ever since that day, four years had passed. His brother often became sullen on the anniversary of the day his body had been retrieved, and Gene often did his best to try and comfort his brother. Anything from trying to pull off ghostly pranks to throwing a dirty sock on his head. Gene had tried to coax even a snort of disapproval from his brother. He had finally managed one last year with the rapid and incessant clicking of a pen.

And now, Noll was planning on doing something. Something that should affect his future in a _very_ big way.

Gene paused in that thought for a moment. Noll was moving forward with his life, as he should. What would happen to his aging brother in five years? Ten? Fifteen? Would he grow? Would he change? Would he even still be among the living?

Gene shuddered at that last thought. His brother should not have to join him prematurely. Not when he could be _living_. He prayed that his brother would live for a long while to come, and vowed he would do anything in his power to make that prayer a reality.

"AH!"

Gene was startled form his musings, which was not easy in life or in death. He was usually not prone to scares, having been in the business that he had lived in. However, watching two children tumble pretty much from his spot in midair was enough to confuse and frighten anyone with a heart.

"Oof!" the same voice from before shouted loudly as the two landed. Gene winced for them in sympathy. That fall had to be quite nasty. Despite being dead and therefore unable to actually _do_ anything, he glided over to them to ensure they were all right. He watched as the girl—who had black hair and equally inky pajamas—assisted the boy she was with. He had messy light brown hair, cinnamon eyes wide with fright, and pajamas with horses on them, like ones one would find in a western movie. They both looked dead on their feet, figuratively speaking.

Gene wished he could do something to help them.

"It's not polite to stare at awesomeness," the girl finally stated after she caught her breath, her eyes not having been opened yet. Gene calmly looked around for the person she was _supposed_ to have been addressing. _Obviously_, she could not see—

"Don't act like I can't see you, I know you're right there!" the girl frowned as she finally turned her eyes to the ghost. Her eyes widened and Gene debated on whether or not she could truly see him.

"You… you're…" the girl floundered for words. Gene decided to break it as gently as he could to her.

"Dead," he finished her sentence softly, smiling to show the strange child that he was at peace with that fact. It had taken three years, but he had finally become okay with the fact that he was no longer a part of the living world. Besides, being a ghost had so many _perks_.

The young boy tugged lightly on his companion's sleeve, confusion evident on his face. After a moment, the confusion cleared and he nodded. He turned in the general direction that his compatriot was looking, not truly knowing what he was looking at. Gene could tell because the boy's gaze was approximately two feet to the left of where the ghost was currently floating.

"Have you ever seen a ghost before?" he questioned, having already deduced that the boy could not see him at all. What? Noll was not the _only_ one gifted with intelligence, you know. His question seemed to knock the girl off her feet and into some sort of attitude.

"Of _course_ I can see ghosts!" the girl huffed, pulling her arms together in a display of disapproval. "I'm awesome like that, remember?"

"Remember what? I don't think we've met before," Gene stated, trying to break the news gently, as it seemed that the child was convinced that they had met sometime in the past. The girl's face twisted in confusion and she opened her mouth to speak, only to halt in her tracks.

Gene eyed the duo carefully. They were small children, dressed only in their pajamas in the dead of night when winter was fast approaching. Though the spirit himself could not feel it, he knew that it was cold due to the tremors of the small boy, who had still not said a word.

"…what day is it?" the girl finally asked after a long bout of silence. Gene broke from his musings, questions alight in his eyes.

"I don't really know," he admitted with a lighthearted smile. "It's been a while since I looked at a calendar, and ghosts don't exactly carry cell phones or watches."

"Do you know the month?" she pressed. Again, Gene shook his head. It had been July when he left Noll to float towards Mai, and the long way around definitely was long. All he knew was that it was almost winter of the same year he had left Noll. The little girl looked exasperated now, and Gene felt a tug of familiarity, but he could not place from where.

"The year, then?" she pushed, her face becoming more irritated by the second. Gene struggled to place that face, as though he had seen it many a time before. Yet he could not. Still, in order to not be rude, he answered the young girl's question.

"1996," Gene revealed, finally knowing an answer to one of her questions. However, instead of the smug satisfaction that the ghost was somewhat expecting—do not ask him why, he simply had an inkling that sort of expression would pass her face next—her face began to drain of color. He began to worry.

"Are you all right?" he asked, reaching out for her shoulder. As expected, his ethereal hand fell through her, and was unable to provide a comfort. However, the chill that his hand provided snapped her out of her mini-panic session and her face began to school itself into determination.

Gene had a feeling that he had _really_ seen that sort of face before… but where…?

Gene felt, rather than heard, the boy's sneeze. His vocal chords made not a peep, but the soft sound of his hair cutting through the air caused both eyes to turn on him. He sniffed silently and offered a gentle smile of apology towards the girl.

"Are you two related?" Gene finally asked. Given the fact that the boy had not spoken a word of the entire conversation yet the girl somehow knew and responded to his unsaid queries, the ghost with the experience felt that they were either close or telepathically connected.

But that could just be him comparing this strange duo to him and Noll. Wait a moment—

"This is my brother," the girl announced. "He's younger than I am by four minutes!"

Gene chuckled at her declaration, having made the same about his younger by two minutes brother. Though how he knew such a thing, given that they had not known their birth mother, is a query left unasked.

"Tell us your name!" the girl demanded. Gene was about to lightly scold her for her lack of manners when her brother poked her in the rib with a frown. Rolling her eyes, she amended her statement with a "please" tacked onto the end.

Deciding that was better than rude declarations, Gene decided to indulge her. "Kazuma Shibuya," he said, lying smoothly. This way, if she met Noll—if there was ever a _chance_ of meeting Noll—she would not call him on his lie.

What a nice older brother he—

"You're dead, so there's no reason to lie," the little girl deadpanned, frowning heavily at him. Gene rose his eyebrows, slightly impressed. Usually, no one questioned him about his identity once he had given it. Not when he pretended to be Noll, not when he assumed that fake name here in Japan whilst he was alive, and not even whilst he was dead and guiding Mai. And yet, this small child just did.

He almost felt like applauding her.

"Until I find out your real name, I'm gonna call you Uncle Gene," the girl declared, her face completely straight. Though Gene could tell there was a bit of deception with the girl as well. He just could not find out what she was lying about. Nor if she actually _knew_ that Gene was his nickname or if she had only guessed.

"Do I look like a Gene to you?" he joked slightly, prodding for information. The girl looked him in the eye and raised an eyebrow.

"Why else would I call you Uncle Gene?" she asked. As far as he could tell, it was an honest question. He sighed in defeat.

"As long as we're going to give each other nicknames, what should I call you two?" he queried, looking from one child to the other. They looked at each other, silently trading barbs, their faces perfectly matched with the other's.

_They could be…_ he mused slightly, watching them interact. The young boy looked almost…consoling. As though he were about to do something he did not wish to. The little girl looked…frustrated. Perhaps they were arguing. Gene decided to wait out their conversation.

"Call me Yui," she finally grumbled, glaring daggers at her brother. Then, as if in some sort of plot to get her younger brother back, she tacked on his introduction. "And he's Kazi."

"All right," Gene conceded. Again, he felt as though he were only getting half-truths. Still, he had no room to talk, having used many himself. "Where are your parents?"

"They're far away," Yui stated bluntly. Gene lifted an eyebrow.

"Won't they be worried?" he asked. Yui and Kazi exchanged glances again, both of them anxious now that he had brought it up.

"We need to find someplace to hide," she admitted. Both of Gene's eyebrows met his forehead.

"Are you running away from home?" he asked. _A little too young to be in that phase_, he thought, looking them over for bruises or signs of malnourishment. They _seemed_ like healthy kids, just out of place and very tired. Yui glared at him.

"Why would we do that?" she retorted angrily. "My daddy's the best ever! I wanted to go ghost hunting with him!"

"Your father is a ghost hunter?" Gene asked, surprised. There were not many people in the business in Japan that he knew of. Certainly not any with _kids_. Yui nodded swiftly.

"Yeah, but he calls it para-normal invest-ti-ga-ting," she explained, tripping only slightly on the last large word. Gene looked the children over again. They _looked_ familiar, but—

Kazi sneezed again, reminding Gene that it was cold outside and these children were in nothing except for their pajamas. Warm as they might be, the children still needed to get inside _somewhere_ and be safe. It was now obvious to Gene that they were running from _something_ that was not their parents, and if she could see ghosts, then there was a possibility of it being paranormal.

Gene thought about that for a moment… who did he know that would take in a couple of lost and tired children that could possibly be in the midst of being chased by something paranormal who had even the slightest chance of protecting them?

* * *

A twenty year old woman rolled out of her very comfortable blankets on her one day off in order to answer the door, which someone was beating upon mercilessly. She refused to look at the clock, which was blaring large red numbers in the middle of her dark bedroom, knowing that the affirmation of a time before nine in the morning would most likely make her upset or remind her to cuddle back with her blankets and regain their trust.

Instead, she yawned widely without bothering to hide it as she ambled to her front door. Her apartment was by no means luxurious, as she spent little time there anyways. Her new job—fifth one that month—did not pay very well, and she feared that she would soon lose it, however cheap it may be.

"I might have to get a new apartment…" she softly mused aloud. There was no way for anyone on the other side of her door to hear it, and she blearily looked through the peephole to see who had awoken her.

"Ara?" she questioned aloud when she saw no one. Possibly against the best common sense known to mankind, she opened the front door in order to double check that there was no dead person or half-conscious life form at her front doorstep.

She rose one of her eyebrows when she saw both.

"Mind if we come in?" Gene's spirit asked as he brought two obviously tired children into her home. She shook her head, letting him know that it was all right with her before she gently shut the door behind them.

After all, Mai Taniyama always had her home open to friends and those who needed a place to stay.

_**AmyNChan: Before I forget, I'm basing the timeline on the year the manga ended, which happened to be 1992.**_

_**Mai: So long ago!**_

_**AmyNChan: And we **__**still**__** get new fans into the fandom~! *mini happy dance***_

_**Gene: That's great! *has party poppers***_

_**AmyNChan: Anyhoot, I hope you guys are enjoying thus far, and can't wait to write even more~! *^_^* Love ya all~!**_

_**Mai: Please leave your thoughts, questions, and random flip-outs about this story in the comment section below! We want to hear your feedback!**_

_**AmyNChan: If you do, a smiling Gene awaits your dreams tonight!**_

_**Gene: Wha—**_

_**Mai and AmyNChan: Review! XDDD**_


	3. Sorting Things Out

_**AmyNChan: All righty, then!**_

_**Mai: This story is a bit different from your others…**_

_**AmyNChan: I'm trying to write it like I would professionally, should I have an original story. XD I think it's going all right, but it could stand to be better.**_

_**Mai: Also, you don't own me or Gene, so you can't make money off of it anyways.**_

_**AmyNChan: XD I said the 'writing style' was what I was working on, not this genre of story. XD**_

_**Mai: XD Just write, already!**_

_**AmyNChan: Yes'm!**_

Mai walked away from the guest room where she had placed her tiny tired visitors. For reasons unknown to her, Gene had somehow picked them up and led them to her house to spend the night. She had no clue who they were—as they had fallen asleep promptly after finding a futon to rest their heads on—and no idea what had happened—as Gene had left rather quickly with a rather frustrating message informing her that he would see her when she slept next.

"I don't mind if he comes by every once in a while, but he could at least warn me if he's bringing somebody," the twenty year old woman complained slightly, though she knew that her gripes were more to get herself talking than because she was actually bothered by the company. A strong feeling in her gut urged her to take the children in with no fight, though an opposing sense in her stomach flip flopped uncomfortably at the sight of them.

"Of course it did, they're just two kids out in the harsh world all alone," Mai muttered. "I wouldn't want that to happen to anyone I knew…"

As she continued to ponder the night's brief yet very odd events, she made herself a cup of tea. It had become custom for her that whenever she awoke in the middle of the night, she would sip on either coffee or tea until the beverage had fulfilled its purpose. Coffee would wake her up and get her energized for the day. She drank this when she was tired, but had no intention or time to fall back into slumber. Usually, this was because she had yet another job that required her to be awake before the crack of dawn. Tea, on the other hand, calmed her when she became far too alert in the precise time she wanted to sleep. The special brew her mother had taught her to make calmed her more so than any other thing she had tried, and was often her go-to drink when she _needed_ to sleep.

It took much less time than normal for her eyes to droop once more. Only four minutes. Quickly yet somehow carefully, she cleaned up the mess she had created in making the tea and turned out the light. In the darkness of her small apartment, she found her room once more and made a beeline for her own futon.

Mai had returned to her blissfully unconscious state before her head even hit the pillow.

* * *

"It took you long enough," Gene smiled as he saw Mai appear before him on the Astral Plane. While he could recuperate his strength here in order to appear in the physical world, remaining in said plane could be quite lonely. The woman in question gave a pointed look in his direction.

"You're one to talk," she stated, thinking of how she had not seen the ghost in almost a year. "You know, you were gone so long I had started to think that you had passed on again."

"I thought we weren't going to talk about that," Gene stated blatantly, pointedly looking at the woman's left side. Mai chuckled as she rolled her eyes and waved off his accusatory glare with her hand.

"I know you don't' want to talk about it, but I have to know… did it work? You promised you would tell me if it worked," she pressed, curiosity shining through in her eyes. Her eyebrows had furrowed and she looked as though the matter of which she was speaking was of grave importance.

Slowly, Gene lost his serious expression and smiled, nodding his head. Mai gave a sigh of relief and her shoulders sagged, as though an enormous weight had been lifted off them and carted away.

"I'm so glad," she admitted. Upon noting Gene's look of discomfort concerning the topic, she decided to mercifully change the subject. More specifically, to something quite relevant. "So what's up with the two kids you brought to my door? I didn't even get their names before they fell asleep."

"Truth be told, neither did I," the spirit explained, grateful to have moved onto something that they could _work_ with. Sort of. "I managed to get a couple of nicknames, though."

"How can I talk to someone with just a nickname?" Mai queried, puzzled. For all she knew, they could be codenames or something of the like. Also, with no names, it would be more difficult to assist them.

"You did with Noll for almost two years," the spirit pointed out. Mai gave a huff of exasperation, her cheeks turning red as she glared at the spirit she would gladly call 'brother'.

"It's not like I _knew_ that was his nickname," Mai defended herself weakly. Gene raised an eyebrow at her childlike defense, pondering on how he could so easily use it against her. Before he could, however, Mai continued. "How long are you going to keep bringing him up, anyways? I haven't seen him or heard from him in four years, not since he left."

"As long as you love him," Gene stated blatantly, having accepted the fact that Mai loved Oliver a long time ago. A few times over the years, he had thought of what might have happened should he have lived. Would he have fallen in love with the brunette as well? Would he and Oliver have fought over her? Eugene somehow doubted it. If he had not ended up as Mai's mentor for the spiritual, he most likely would have ended up befriending the young girl and leaving their relationship purely platonic, should they have met at all.

In spite of what anyone would think, the two were simply far too alike to have lasted in a relationship such as _that_ for very long.

"You mean so long as I'm a delirious fool chasing after a man who will never come back," Mai clarified, shaking her head. Honestly, Naru had not returned in four years, and they had not parted on good terms. In her mind, it was past time to try and pick up the pieces and move on.

Yet something kept her back every time she made an attempt.

Mai shook her head and noticed that Gene was about to say something—most likely along the hopeful lines of 'you never know' or 'it might happen' that he usually said after she made those sort of statements. Not wishing to hear them tonight, she cut across the ghost and returned to the topic at hand. She was in no mood to attempt to get her hopes up tonight. "So what are their nicknames?"

"The girl introduced themselves as Yui and Kazi," Gene sighed, deciding to relent. He _could_ have told her, but _she_ was the one who decided to _interrupt_ him. He decided to go along with where she wanted to take the direction of the conversation. If she did not want to hear, then who was he to tell her? "Based on what I gathered, it's entirely plausible that they could be pursued by something supernatural."

"What makes you say that?" Mai asked, sitting beside her friend. If there was something spiritual after these children, then the police department—which was filled to the brim with those who would laugh at such an idea as _ghosts_—would be of little use, and the charms she and Ayako had put up around her apartment half a year ago—meant to ward off any spirits other than Gene's—would only protect them for so long. She had to be sure.

"Simple," Gene began his explanation. "Yui—the little girl—could see me. But it was almost as though she were used to seeing ghosts, as she got used to my presence fairly quickly. Kazi—her brother—was not panicked at all by the fact that his sister could see something that he could not, as most children would around their age. Both children will bat for their parents wholeheartedly and even told me that their father was a ghost hunter."

"So if something followed the parents home, it could have gone after the children for some reason or another," Mai finished, realizing her guide's point of view. Gene smiled at how far Mai had come since day one. In intellect, in her paranormal expertise—not that she was quite in that field of work right now—and in personality alike. She had grown a bit.

"I hardly think this is anything to be smiling at, Gene," Mai stated, breaking his train of thought. "We have two children very far from home in my apartment, children which something paranormal may or may not be chasing. To add to that, they didn't tell you their real names and I doubt they'll tell me, which doesn't help me when I look for their parents. Also, if they're going to stay for a while, I'll need to get another job."

"Aren't you overworking yourself already?" Gene cut in, keeping in mind the school load she was pulling as well as the multiple jobs she was carrying. Even though they had not seen each other in a year, he still remembered her plans from the last time there had not been anything in the conversation to indicate that she was not sticking true to them.

The reason for her financial situation and need for multiple jobs was that two years after Noll's return to England, Madoka had been called back to the main branch. Since then, she and Lin had gotten married and somewhat settled in England. Because of Madoka's absence and the simple fact that there was no one truly capable to take over SPR's Japanese branch, the office had shut down, leaving Mai jobless for a number of weeks. Last Gene had asked, she had been working part time as a tea waitress and as a secretary for a low-grade law firm that happened to be near the school she was attending for her business major. However, all of this information was outdated by a year, so he had no idea what she had been doing since that time.

"Well, I'm not going to send them somewhere they can't be protected, and Ayako and Bou-san don't get back into town until next week," she explained, mentally running through the list of people who could do the job in her head. "I haven't seen Masako-san in three months because of her shoot, and John-san is still in Australia. Yasu doesn't have any charms around his flat, and I don't think he'd want to have two children around his place for an indefinite amount of time. Those are pretty much all of the people I know of in Japan who would think of taking them in who also have protection from the supernatural."

"So _you_ don't mind taking them in for an indefinite amount of time?" Gene asked. He knew that the girl would find a way to take care of the kids, one way or another. Even if it cost her health and sanity.

"It's the only place they can be protected until I find their parents," Mai explained, looking down at her fingers. "Maybe they'll know what to do and how to keep the kids safe, or even what they're being chased by. But until then, they're going to have to put up with my lousy cooking and hectic schedule for who knows how long."

Gene could not cover the knowing smile that crossed his face. As Mai happened to look over in his direction at that point, he could see the woman's eyes narrow in his direction.

"Gene…" she stated, her voice an evident warning. The boy—forever frozen at sixteen—simply waved off her tone. Still, she continued. "Why do I get the feeling you know something I don't?"

"Maybe I do," he stated in a very non helpful tone which caused Mai to frown. "But we've run out of time for now. Even though we worked on it last time, I can't keep you for very long on the Astral Plane, remember?"

Mai's face paled a little bit at the reminder and Gene took on a slightly more somber tone at the memory. He stuck his index finger on the brunette's forehead and pushed, allowing her to leave the Astral Plane with one last message from him.

"Your schedule may not be too hectic for much longer."

_What do you mean?_

* * *

Mai awoke with a start, as she normally did after a night of Astral Projecting. Though few and far between, the occurrences had developed a certain schedule of their own. Quickly shaking off the feeling of pins and needles in her foot, she yawned and set about to get changed into something more suitable for the day, only glancing at the clock briefly. It was now nine twenty-five. Before noon, yet the woman could not find it in herself to be too terribly upset.

_I wonder if they're hungry…_ she mused quietly as she pulled a cotton tee-shirt over her head. She certainly hoped neither were allergic to eggs, as omelets were the only fancy breakfast food she could cook. _Omelets with fish and cheese…Oh, yum…_

Excited to try and make some breakfast—and now quite a bit hungry herself—Mai made her way to the guest room and knocked on the door politely. After all, it was quite rude to intrude on anyone, whether they were living in your apartment temporarily as guests or no.

She heard a slight rustling on the other side of the door before it was pulled open slightly. The young boy—now dubbed Kazi by Gene—looked wide awake despite his long night and, in Mai's opinion, the early hour. It took only a moment for him to see her face and when he did, a look of subtle confusion crossed his features. He reached one hand tentatively towards her before faltering for a moment and stopping a few inches short. Mai decided it would probably be better to get down at eye level so as not to confuse or scare the poor boy.

"Hello," she softly introduced herself with a kind smile. "My name is Taniyama Mai. You and your sister came to my house last night at about three in the morning and fell asleep in the guest room of my apartment. Are you or your sister allergic to eggs?"

The young boy shook his head and withdrew his hand from her. Mai looked at it curiously before she finally noted what the boy was holding in his other hand.

"Oh, I forgot those were in the guest room," she laughed slightly, somehow embarrassed that this young soul had found her collection of Oliver Davis books. She kept them around just in case she needed to know something for a freelance exorcism with her favorite monk and priestess, but also because they reminded her that he was out there and hopefully still safe. It was true that she got occasional updates from Gene, but she was not going to belittle her friend to a mere messenger boy between Oliver and herself.

It was not as though Naru would have a message to send back to her anyways…

"I'm going to make some breakfast, then," Mai announced softly, wondering if her other guest were still asleep. She peeked into the room slightly to see that the black-haired child was still on the futon, snoring away quite contentedly with her blanket strewn about quite lazily. She must have kicked them off in her sleep.

Shaking her head, but deciding to leave the child to sleep in peace, Mai made for her kitchen. She was quite surprised when Kazi followed her. These two children were in a strange place where all they truly had was each other, and he was choosing to leave his sister in a strange room by herself. Why?

"Aren't you worried about her?" she asked aloud, slowing down enough so Kazi could match her pace easily. The young boy shook his head and pointed to Mai, then to their surroundings, and then to himself along with the door they had just left behind.

"I make you feel safe?" she guessed, her only evidence towards that translation being his gentle smile that encouraged her. He nodded his head and Mai smiled warmly at him in return. It was good that she made them feel safe. Perhaps it was the fact that she had taken them in at such a ridiculous hour, and perhaps it was the charms around the area, cleansing the negative energy and keeping it at bay. Whatever the reason, she wished to keep the children as safe as she possibly could.

And she knew to achieve that; she could not possibly do it on her own.

_**AmyNChan: All right! We have a few more pieces moving into place, I think!**_

_**Gene: You have me as a deep character with thought and everything!**_

_**Mai: But what were we talking about? What worked? And what was the incident when Gene mentioned the Astral Plane?**_

_**AmyNChan: I dunno yet. XD**_

_**Gene: Are you serious?**_

_**AmyNChan: Yup! XD**_

_**Gene: Are you going through this with no plan at all?**_

_**AmyNChan: I have a plan, it's just very loose and able to flex at will. XD**_

_**Mai: 0.o**_

_**AmyNChan: Anyhoot, if you're enjoying this story, please review! And if you could go and vote on my page, I would be much obliged to ya~! *^_^***_


	4. Breakfast

_**AmyNChan: I know, it's been a while for this one, but this one is going to be very tricky to write. I'm going to try not to fall into writing clichés, but you are all going to have to help me, okay? XD**_

_**Mai: AmyChan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!**_

_**AmyNChan: Nope, but I do own Yui and Kazi~! *^_^***_

"It's rude to stare at awesomeness, you know," little Yui stated proudly, despite her sleepy eyes. She had caught Mai looking at her and her brother yet again over breakfast. It was starting to get a touch annoying for the young girl. On the other hand, Mai had been thinking about how quickly the child had come out of her slumber and into the kitchen once she had smelled the omelets in the kitchen. For her, it had been mildly entertaining. "No matter how much you want to!"

"And it's rude to talk with your mouth full, as well," Mai reprimanded gently. The inky-haired girl scowled as she finished the food in her mouth. Despite the girl's initial complaints, Mai had a feeling that the young one actually enjoyed the food she was given to eat. Kazi as well, as he had already cleaned his plate and was silently—yet somehow politely—asking for seconds. The woman stood to oblige him.

Preparing breakfast had been an interesting affair for Mai that morning. While she would not let the young boy anywhere near the stove lest he get burned, he had been quite helpful in preparing breakfast. He even had a few ideas of his own. Because of him, the omelets not only contained fish and cheese, but leeks and a cherry tomato as well. Despite her initial thoughts about this combination being disastrous, one bite in had proven the strange variety to be not quite so horrible after all. Evidently, the cooked leeks had made the scent which drew little Yui out of bed in the first place. She had walked to the table, sat herself down with a loud yawn, and waited for her breakfast to come out. All without opening an eye.

The strange child had also asked for a newspaper, which Mai had eventually gotten at the doorstep and handed to the little girl. Upon receiving said newspaper, the lass had looked to the opposite end of the table before hiding her face in the news. The action certainly looked practiced.

Mai had found it strange, but did not comment on it aloud.

"That's a pol-ter-geist," Yui stated suddenly, jabbing her finger into the paper—which she had hung onto all through breakfast—as Mai placed the second plate in front of Kazi. Yui was only halfway through her first plate, having been more concerned with the paper in her small hands. The headline in question was about how a certain tourist location was haunted and inviting tourists to come and check the place out, testing their mettle. "It's scaring away all the people because the janitor is mad that her mom got married to her boss."

"That's quite the assumption," Mai stated, wondering if the girl was merely guessing or making up a story to entertain herself with. Still, why such a serious child would make up a story about a poltergeist concerning love was beyond Mai. Even if her parents somehow were involved with the supernatural.

"You're gonna take the case on December 23rd," the little girl stated brashly. "Because someone's gonna get hurt and you guys don't like it when someone gets hurt."

"I'll look out for the twenty-third, then," Mai stated, deciding to play along. Perhaps if she did so, the child would be more willing to tell her what she needed to know in order to help them. Besides that, her current job—of the past three weeks—was only as a secretary for a photography studio. Not her ideal job, but it paid the bills more adequately than a few of her other endeavors. And even if she had the time, she could not take the case. Not alone, at the very least.

Since the final dissolution of the team, Mai had left the field, though not entirely. As of late, she had been taking cases alongside her father-figure of a monk and the woman she looked up to as a mother figure. However, both Bou-san and Ayako were out of the country, due to a specialized Christmas concert that Bou-san's band had been asked to play in France. They would not be returning to Japan—much less into Shibuya—until the twenty ninth.

"You don't believe me," the girl declared, her youthful blue eyes staring deep into Mai's cinnamon ones. They were challenging the woman to dare refute her claim. It was a challenge that the woman decided to avert for the time being.

"Where are your parents?" she asked, deciding to switch the topic of conversation without so much as blinking. In all actuality, she really did need to contact the children's parents and let them know that they were all right. If it were Mai, she would have been worried sick by now. The small child cast her a glare that should not be on the face of any child, as concentrated as it was.

"We don't know where our parents are..." the girl finally said, as though the intense glaring contest between woman and child had not just happened. She then took a rather large chunk of egg and placed it in her mouth, effectively telling everyone in the room that she would not speak any more on the subject.

However, two could play at that game.

"What are their names?" Mai pressed as soon as she heard the young girl swallow. However, instead of answering, the child simply grabbed her glass of water and began to chase down her breakfast. Anyone could tell that the sneaky child was thinking hard of what to tell her.

But that was okay.

Mai could wait.

Suddenly, the phone that hung on her kitchen wall screamed, demanding the attention of the woman right that instant. Our favorite brunette gave a silent, yet somewhat defeated, sigh as she excused herself from the table and left to answer the telephone.

She had a feeling as soon as her back was turned; the children would be looking at each other, silently discussing what to do next. Mai was unsure if she should be afraid she was being duped or if she should be okay with such things.

"Taniyama residence, Mai speaking," she stated professionally, yet was somehow able to slip a smile into her voice. Seeing her chance, Yui began to eat her eggs in earnest, as if she had just realized they were there. Kazi, on the other hand, eyed the woman who was now caring for them with a curious eye as she talked on the phone. He was curious as to the life style she lived. He wanted to know a lot, yet knew he was limited on asking…

If only…

"I see. Are you sure that this is the only solution?" Mai asked, all forms of cheerfulness gone from her tone. It was this tone of voice—so serious and without any hint of fun—that caused the two children to look to her in identical worry. Upon seeing the kids' concerned glances, she sent them a smile, meant to reassure them.

It did nothing of the sort.

"Of course, I hope she makes it through," she said into the phone, speaking quietly. Still, even if Yui could not hear her soft tone of remorse, Kazi could. His eyebrows furrowed in concern for this woman who was caring for them.

"Thank you. Have a happy Christmas," Mai bid as she hung up the phone. She stood in front of the device for a moment before deciding it would be better if she left the room. There was no need to worry the children even further. "I think I forgot to fold up my futon. I'll be right back."

With that, the woman swiftly exited into her bedroom, all the while her mind in a mess. After all, how was she going to care for two children in her apartment when she was now jobless once more?

* * *

Yui watched as Mo—ai left the room. Her eyes narrowed. She did not hear what had happened on the phone, so she turned to her brother, who had finished his second plate a few moments ago. She stuck her fork in her mouth.

_What was that about?_ she inquired silently, savoring the egg that she currently had in her mouth. She loved leeks, but would never thank her brother for telling their current caretaker to put them into the omelets.

_She just got fired, I think…_ he responded, playing with his fork on his plate. Yui scrunched up her face in confusion as she swallowed her food.

_But I thought she worked at—_

_That's not yet_, Kazi interrupted. _You're getting it all mixed up, Yui._

_But Uncle Gene said it was 1996, and today's newspaper said it was almost Christmas_, Yui argued, setting her fork down. Her eyes narrowed, as they normally did whenever someone refuted her or her logic. _I thought—_

_That's right, but it's not yet…_ Kazi stated firmly once more. Despite knowing that his sister preferred to be wholly and completely right, he knew that if they were wrong everything could turn out very bad. He had read enough stories to know, and had even read one of his father's books on the subject. Even though he and mommy had asked him not to.

_So that means she's gonna get a call soon?_ Yui asked. She never had much patience for reading, even if it were her daddy's books. She would much rather run around and play and catch ghosts and actually do something than sit around. The only time she really wanted to learn a story was if it were being told to her.

And story-telling had been what their mother did best.

_Soon, probably_, Kazi mused. He turned his head towards where the owner of the apartment had left. She had been gone for a little while now. _Do you think she's okay?_

_I don't know, do you wanna go check on her?_ Yui asked as she turned back to her breakfast. There was still half an omelet for her to eat and savor. The girl gladly picked up another bite as her brother silently excused himself from the table. Ever the polite little man, Kazi took his plate to the sink and gave it a brief rinsing before going through the same door the older woman had walked through only a few minutes ago.

"She's not gonna tell you good job or anything…" Yui stated softly yet stubbornly after she had swallowed a bite of food. Instead of dwelling on the fact that her brother might end up disappointed that he would not get any sort of praise for a deed well done—something that usually happened in their household—the girl decided to look around at the small apartment once more. She liked to look at things sometimes, but only when they caught her interest.

Because it was partly a kitchen, it had a stove and a small refrigerator. Too small, really, for the lots of healthy foods her mom usually made her eat. There was also a sink, but no dishwasher. Maybe Mo-ai did not use a dishwasher… Maybe she washed all of her dishes by hand? Yui thought about it for a moment before deciding she was bored and looking for something else to observe for a minute or so. What her eyes found was the table she was sitting at. Like she was used to, the table had four seats, but it looked to Yui that no one really sat in them. She frowned as she started to wiggle in her chair. It creaked loudly.

"What kind of chair creaks?" Yui asked aloud, seemingly frustrated. In truth, she was actually rather glad that the creaking sounds were there to entertain her. She pumped her feet back and forth for a while as she ate her breakfast, enjoying the movement and the odd sounds that came with it.

Other than the necessary kitchen furnishings, there was really only room for a small loveseat and a table. The table held a few pictures on it that Yui could not see all too clearly, but that was all right. She might look at them later if they still interested her.

Almost as soon as the child had finished with her breakfast—she was then in the midst of an internal debate. When she put her plate in the sink, should she rinse it off or just leave it?—the phone began to howl at her. Not in a literal sense, of course, but if one were to ask the little girl whom the sudden noise had startled, one would hear from her that it was as loud as an angry howling wolf. Of course, the little girl did not take kindly to being frightened in any aspect so she marched up to that phone to show it who was boss.

"Don't you know it's rude to call people when they're trying to eat breakfast?" Yui asked as soon as she picked up the phone, not quite caring about the fact that she had no idea who was on the other end nor the fact that this was not her house and she could not just do as she pleased. She was far too flustered for any of these menial things. She waited for a good half of a minute before she got impatient and spoke into the phone again. "Hello? Earth to rude caller!"

"Is this the Taniyama residence?" a blunt male voice asked. Yui felt herself pale and brought the palm of her hand to her forehead. She and Kazi had just talked about this! Right before he had left the room to find their current caretaker. Speaking of which, the two had not come back yet. She wondered…

"Earth to the rude child who answered the phone, is this the Taniyama residence?" the voice repeated, turning her words back on her. Yui's face flushed in embarrassment as she scowled. Not that the person on the other side of the phone could see it. Of course not.

"Yes it is," she snapped at him. Not that she would normally; it was only that he had caught her off guard. Maybe when she saw him—

Oh. That was right… He—

"Is Taniyama Mai able to answer the phone?" he asked, though Yui wondered what was wrong with his voice. It sounded a little mad to her. She frowned. She did not want him to be mad. Especially not at her.

"I'll go see if she can talk right now," she told him over the phone. "Don't move a muscle!"

With that last warning, she placed the phone down and sprinted the short distance from the kitchen wall to the bedroom door. After all, the apartment was not very large, so her feet did not have to beat harshly upon the wooden floors for very long.

Yui rapped her small knuckles on the door for a few moments before she was allowed to come in. She pushed the door open and was not very surprised at what she saw. Kazi had gotten a piece of paper and a pencil and was attempting to write out what he was trying to say. Kazi was not very good at it, but usually their parents were able to guess a few times before they dissolved into good-natured smiles and laughs. It was then that Kazi would finally 'tell' their parents what he was trying to say.

Unfortunately, he could not speak clearly to her, and Mai was a pretty bad guesser.

"Moto…ki?" she asked, squinting at the paper. Kazi, although fairly patient for a five year old, was beginning to be frustrated as he wrote the kanji again, trying very hard to keep his hand still. Yui took a few moments to figure out that Mai seemed to be feeling a lot better—that or she was _very_ good actress—and she figured out what Kazi was doing wrong.

"They're too far apart," Yui pointed out. She would have pondered on how it was most unusual for her brother to make such a mistake. He had always been much better at her when it came to writing kanji, even if they only started learning it last year. But there was something else that she needed to tell right now. She turned to the brunette.

"He's trying to tell you to cheer up because you have a phone call," the little girl announced with a confident air. The woman blinked in surprise.

"Oh, if I had a phone call, why didn't you just tell me?" she asked kindly, ruffling the top of Kazi's head. The young boy sucked in a breath of air and did not release it until the kind woman's hand was gone. By that point, she had left her room to tend to the phone. The young boy sighed in relief, but also in disappointment. Of _course_ she would not be able to hear him…

Of course…

"You know, there are easier ways to tell her to cheer up," Yui stated aloud, looking at her brother's upset face as he continued to sit on the futon. It made her sad to see her little brother that way, despite him only being littler by four minutes. Still, she decided to sit down next to her little brother on the futon where their caretaker had just been. Kazi would not look her in the eye.

"You could give her a hug or draw her a picture. Or maybe even help her make some tea," she continued. Though, instead of making her brother happier and more optimistic—like he usually is—it only caused him to become sadder. The small girl did not really know what to do with her brother, who usually made it a habit to smile even when everything seemed upsetting. She pulled up her knees and sat silently for a moment, watching her brother. He began to doodle on the page he had been using to try communicating with the kind woman. He was definitely sad.

"Hey," she finally said. He looked up at her. She frowned and looked away from his face, deciding to focus her attention on the door instead. She did not need to see him frowning so much. That was her job. "Good job about rinsing the dish… Mom would be happy."

Her brother looked at her for a moment, confused. She could feel his thoughts running through his head. Still, he eventually smiled, which was the point. Yui would have smiled as well if it were not for another loud noise of the morning.

The slam of the phone against the carrier.

_**AmyNChan: Uh oh…**_

_**Yui: What was that about?**_

_**Kazi: *holding up a sign***_

_**Sign: If you divide the kanji up for "Cheer up"/ "**__**元気づける**__**"**__**/ "Genkidzukru", it means "Origin, Care, Association, That"/ "**__**元**__**, **__**気**__**, **__**づけ**__**, **__**る**__**"**__**/ "Moto ki dzukeru"**_

_**Yui: So, he was trying to say "Cheer up", but the first two kanji got split up and spelled out "Moto ki" instead of "Genki".**_

_**Kazi: *nods***_

_**AmyNChan: Still, for five years old, you're doing amazing with Kanji!**_

_**Yui: We are amazing!**_

_**AmyNChan: …such an arrogant child…**_

_**Kazi: *sweatdrops***_

_**AmyNChan: Anyway, please read and review~! *^_^***_


	5. Seeking Normality

_**AmyNChan: Hey, guys! I'm sorry this took so long to get out here, but I was seriously stuck heavily on this yadda yadda yadda. ^^;**_

_**Mai: As long as the readers get the next chapter, I don't think they mind a little bit of a wait…**_

_**AmyNChan: I certainly hope so… Also, I have tissues on the standby, because I almost cried writing this chapter!**_

_**Mai: Wait, wha—?!**_

_**AmyNChan: I don't own the Ghost Hunt cannon characters! *^_^***_

"I cannot _believe_ he said that to me," she muttered with an air of visible frustration and embarrassment. Yui and Kazi peeked tentatively out of their new caretaker's room to see her scrubbing away at dishes before pulling out a kettle. The two children looked at each other before tuning into her frantic actions once more. "The nerve of that little— And after what I've done—!"

"What did the rude caller say?" Yui blurted without meaning to. As the child tried to slap her hands over her mouth and cover up what she had said, she lost balance and started to tumble to the ground. Kazi, being beneath her at the time, was caught in the gravitational pull that was tugging on his sister and also collapsed. Startled, Mai turned to see the two children in a heap at her bedroom door, attempting to look innocent.

Well, the woman who wore her heart on her sleeve could not help but smile at the antics of the two children. She giggled at their small misfortune before gently setting down her tea set and rushing over to help them to their feet.

"Even _kids_ know he's rude..." she laughed softly as she managed to get Yui to her feet. It did not take very long to assist Kazi as well. Before Yui could state her piece, she had continued. "A man I used to know just called and offered me a job."

"Are you gonna take it?" Yui asked, needing to actually say something out loud. She hated being quiet for too long. She hated being interrupted even more. The brunette woman sighed as she returned to making her tea.

"I don't know," she admitted, her eyes narrowing as she recalled the conversation she had just gone through. The two children looked at each other, eyes wide.

_Did she just—_

_I think she—_

_But wasn't she gonna—_

_How—_

_But—_

"Why?" Yui asked the question that the two children had agreed on in their telepathic minds. In their flurry of queries, that had been the most prominent. The woman huffed a breath of air out, indicating her displeasure with the situation.

"My old boss has a _very horrible habit_ of making assumptions about my personal life. I think it's the one situation where he's dead wrong when it really counts," she mused aloud as the teapot screeched for attention. Kazi began to take a step forward, only to be halted by Yui's extended hand. He had forgotten. This person would not let him near the stove.

"I thought he was really smart?" Yui stated, her brows furrowing in confusion and a touch of disbelief. Mai, however, was not looking and therefore could not have caught such a look. Nor was she in a state of mind to ask herself when she had revealed _his_ intelligence to the young child or how she had come across that information. She was too busy attempting to calm herself down with a nice cup of dragonfruit tea. The sweet yet somewhat tangy flavor always helped her to relieve headaches, especially after long days or stressful situations. She pondered for a moment of whether or not the kids would like some tea, or if they were allowed to have caffeine at such a young age. If it were her children, she probably would not want them to have too much.

It was then that she remembered her blend did not have any caffeine.

"He usually is," Mai answered, almost distractedly. She was still wondering if the children would like some tea, a mild distraction to get her mind off of the phone call she had just received. They _did_ just eat breakfast. Tea right now might be a bit much for their stomachs to handle. Perhaps later, then.

"But what about the other phone call?" Yui pressed. At this point, she and Kazi were standing on either side of the twenty year old, having followed her after their little tumble. Kazi was watching Mai's hand with a bit of nervousness while Yui kept demanding her attention with endless questions. For the young woman, it was almost like helping John in the orphanage, only different somehow. Her instincts were screaming that something was very different to her, but she could not quite make out the important distinction. What made this so different…?

"What about it?" she asked, prompting Yui to continue. Mai felt as though she needed to riddle out what was driving her instincts so haywire about these children. There was something off here. She just did not know what.

"You lost your last job," Yui blurted. However, as soon as she did, her hands went up to her mouth. The twenty year old woman did not tell her that she had lost her job at the photography studio. Yui was not supposed to have known small details like that. She had messed up.

She had said something she should not have said.

"That's true…" Mai murmured, knowing that she could not avoid the problem forever, yet this headache of hers kept her from thinking clearly on everything that was happening at once. With her instincts, the calls, Gene's warning which suddenly made so much more sense, these two children, and this budding headache, there was hardly much room to think clearly for her. She felt so bogged down in the matter of only twelve hours. She heard a timer go off and deemed that her tea was now at a good sipping temperature.

She took a sip and sighed in relief. The headache was abating.

Yui, on the other hand, thanked her lucky stars. This woman had always possessed a stunning ability to catch on her slip-ups, and it was great that luck appeared to be on her side for the time being. As she let out a silent breath of relief, she noticed her brother, his expression so much more distraught than when she had seen it last. Red flags went up in her mind, as she had not been paying attention to her brother's thoughts with her own running around in her head.

_What's wrong, Kazi?_ Yui asked as she looked at her brother. It was now that she noticed his thoughts were blanketed in the swirling emotions of loneliness and intense sadness. The young girl could feel herself sag under a new weight of guilt. She should have been paying attention to her brother. She should _know_ what was wrong, but she did not. She felt like a terrible sister.

_I'm still scared…_ he admitted. It was so quiet, even in her own mind, that she had trouble discerning it from the normal static that came with a telepathic connection. Yui felt her heart falter for her brother's sake. He did not get this scared. Not usually.

Then again, they did not usually make much of a habit of using his powers to put them—wherever they were. He must have felt a bit responsible for this mess, even though it was not his fault...

Yui's thoughts on the subject—which were very well construed for a five year old—were enough to validate Kazi's fears and insecurities on the situation. The child suddenly latched onto the older woman, and did not give any acknowledgement when she gave a sudden start. Yui held her breath as the woman they knew looked down at Kazi, her familiar eyes painfully unaware of their true existence.

"Are you feeling okay?" she asked, her tone caring and nurturing. Were he able to, Kazi would have hiccupped. Their caretaker placed her tea down carefully—her mind now pushing her personal problems and instincts off to the side—and knelt to eye level in an attempt to gain a better understanding of what was happening. She looked into the frightened brown eyes of the young boy who refused to let go of her side. She adjusted him so he would not have to hold onto her leg as she knelt to his level, but as soon as she did so, he latched himself onto her neck, holding on for dear life. Mai heart throbbed painfully when she felt tears on the nape of her neck.

"What's wrong…?" she whispered, subconsciously rubbing the boy's back as an attempt in comfort. Her eyes roamed to Yui, who she thought might have a few answers to her brother's sudden behavior. The young girl was about to talk to her brother when what was bothering him so badly suddenly invaded her mind, bringing to the forefront thoughts she had been trying so very hard to push away since last night.

They had been at _home_, where they had felt the _safest_. They had almost been asleep, which was when they were the calmest. Everything had been normal.

Then they had been taken. Betrayed by someone who their family had _trusted_. Who their _parents_ had trusted. Kazi had _liked it_ when Yakuza-san came and watched them. Even Yui had enjoyed the woman's presence, despite her skepticism.

They had been drugged. They had been dragged to a van. They had been tied up uncomfortably. They had been about to be _sold_. They were never going to see their family again.

And then they had exploded, somehow. And now they were in a strange place with familiar faces who found them strange. They did not have a real home here. They were lost, and they had no way to get back. The people they were used to seeking comfort from now treated them no more than houseguests. Like practical strangers.

All of these facts piled on Yui and she struggled to keep her tears down. She had made it so far without crying because she had tried _not_ to think about it. She had been trying so very hard to be strong. To keep herself occupied. To ask questions and not think about anything when this woman or Uncle Gene had asked her to answer theirs. To stay strong even though she was perhaps just a little bit scared. She had wanted to be fearless and strong like daddy...

She had been trying so hard, and now she felt so alone. So cold. So upset. She just wanted her daddy to hold her like he always did whenever she was really sad. She wanted to go on cases again and be normal. She wanted to go back to where she came from.

"Ngh…" the girl began, but found she could not finish. Her composure was being held by only a thread, and it was fraying with each passing second that she thought of what she and her brother had gone through in the past twelve hours. Or was it even that?

The sounds of wailing broke through the kitchen as two children sobbed, their true terror showing for the first time since the ordeal had begun. The shock had worn off, the newness of their surroundings had faded, and all that remained were two children who wished for nothing more than for their mommy and daddy to hold them and tell them it was going to be okay. To be held by people who would understand them and support them and love them and know them. Yui lifted her hands to try and scrub away her tears as she continued to cry.

"Shhhh," a voice suddenly came, subtle and soft. Yui found herself surrendering to it, allowing herself to wail as loudly as she needed to. Allowing herself to seek comfort in the arm that was now wrapped around her, keeping her rooted to the ground as a comforting hand rubbed circles on her back. It was then that she realized she was not so alone. So cold. She was still plenty upset, though.

"It's going to be okay," the familiar voice cooed again, and Kazi wanted to believe it. He wanted to believe that everything was going to be okay again. He had tried to make himself comfortable and familiar here. He had tried to behave as he did at home, he had tried so hard. He knew that he was safe here, but he was not understood. He wanted to go home, where his mommy could hear him. He wanted to go home and feel safe again. He wanted his mommy and daddy so very much, because he felt so alone and so lost here.

The voice hummed a tune that felt so familiar to the children. They curled into the warmth that had been offered to them and allowed themselves a small comfort. In the voice that was humming to them. In the fact that they still had each other. Yui sought out the hand of her brother and held it tightly as they were being held by these comforting arms. The emotional drain caused her eyes to be sleepy, and she refused to believe that they had leaked liquid only moments beforehand.

_Mommy…_ the two thought. One aloud, and one silently.

They surrendered to the feeling of comfort and to the lullaby that their mother always hummed to them in times of duress.

* * *

Mai held the children for a long while. She had no idea how long. She had tried to soothe them as best she knew how. She rubbed circles on their backs and let them cry as loudly as they needed to and kept them both close until they both succumbed to sleep. At that point, they were holding the hand of the other as well as clinging to her, their sobs dimmed yet not vanquished as she hummed to them the lullaby her mother had once hummed to her.

With strength she did not know she could possess, Mai picked both of the children up in one fell swoop and took them to the room she had let them use the night before. She placed each child in their futon—Kazi for the neat one and Yui for the messy one—placed a blanket on each, shut out the light, and silently closed the door. She returned to her tea with a troubled heart.

She had been terribly selfish to this point. While it was true that she needed to care for the children physically with food, a shelter, and protection from whatever pursuers they might have until their parents could be found, she also needed to provide for them emotionally until such a time came as well. Yui's—the stubborn and generally rude yet somehow kind child'—simple calling her their mother whilst they cried was proof enough of that. Her personal beef with that man should not come at the expense of two frightened and lonely children.

_I need __one__ job that will pay me well and give me enough time to be with them if they need me…_ Mai conceded as she finished her tea. She could not be there for the children should they need her if she took on multiple jobs. This was truly her last option. She looked towards the pictures she had on the table. One of her mother and father. One of her family in SPR. And the picture of Naru and Gene.

She offered a quick prayer as she picked up the phone.

* * *

Oliver Davis stood in the center of his office, wondering where exactly it was that he had gone wrong. He had led a good academic life. His findings had advanced the causes of Ghost Hunting and parapsychology. His work had helped many others and accomplished many of the goals he had set for it to accomplish, and yet he found himself dissatisfied. It was due to this dissatisfaction that he had found himself ordering a ticket to Japan after four years and informing his parents that he would like to open a full-time branch of SPR in Japan, where he had already laid ground rails years ago.

Oliver was—by no means—an idiot. He knew that part of the reason he had come back was to check on the girl who had once been his assistant. His initial purpose in placing the call to her was simply to check in on her life. How was she? Was she faring well? Did she now have someone who could take care of her clumsy self? Perhaps, if the past could be forgiven—if not tolerated—he could have asked her to once again work with him as they had done so long ago.

He had not intended to spat with her at all. It had only been meant as a civil, friendly call.

However, there was the matter of the child who had answered the telephone in the first place. Had the personality not been such a vast contrast to the Mai he had known, he would have assumed that the person who had answered was Mai herself. Oliver knew that no matter how much time passed, Mai would never become that rude to an anonymous caller. He had, after all, never given the girl his private cell phone number, so even if she had caller ID, she would have never known it was him. She would have been answering to a stranger.

Still, the child had sounded startlingly similar to the brown-haired assistant he had worked with four years ago. It was only natural to assume that the child was hers with as young as she had sounded. It had been four years since he had last seen her, so it was plausible that she could have had a child in that time. As he had waited for the child to retrieve Mai, he had wondered. Wondered if the child looked like Mai, or looked like her father—whoever _that_ may be. This dangerous trail of thoughts is perhaps where his call had gone astray.

To him, this train of thought had been troubling indeed. The child had stated that it was indeed the Taniyama residence. If that were so, that meant Mai's last name was the same as when he had known her, and it was very plausible that she had not married. Was she raising a child by herself, or was she perhaps living with a boyfriend? Was she well in her current state of affairs? Would the father of the child be treating her right?

The possibility of the last question's answer being no caused a terrible ache in his heart and a sudden quiet rage in his disposition.

And that was when Mai had answered the phone. They had calmly chatted for a few moments before he had asked her on her personal life and state of affairs. She had not mentioned a man of any sort, but he had felt determined to get an answer. When he had broached the subject of the child's father, she had become rather hostile and increasingly defensive rather quickly. Oliver deduced that the father must have run off and left her to care for the child alone. Mai, being herself, would probably never send a child to an orphanage or to the police if it were within her ability to keep the child. Even at hazard to herself. In this mindset, he had offered her a job with him back at SPR should she need the finances to help raise the child. It was, after all, something he could do to help her out once more, and he would help out a non-pumpkin.

Her anger had been completely unexpected. She had not yelled at him over the phone, but she had become extremely cold with him, instantly referring to him as Davis-san, which did not sit well with him at all. When he had attempted to deduce the cause of her sudden shift in attitude, all she had done was wish him a good day and hang up on him.

That call had ended two hours ago, and Oliver was still at a loss. Mai obviously needed someone to help her out and care for the child. It was obviously a touchy subject, so matters must have been quite complicated.

Oliver vaguely wondered why he was still worried about it if she had hung up on him, effectively sending the message that she did not wish to speak with him again. Perhaps it was because she had already reached and remained on the non-pumpkin stage of his life despite the passage of time, and he had actually wanted either to end relations with her on a good note rather than a sour one or perhaps have good relations from this call onwards. Oliver sighed. Why could his life never be without complications?

The buzzing of his phone brought his attention to the present. To the fact that even though his personal life was currently being figured out, he was still the head of BSPR's new Japanese branch and he needed to run it with utmost professionalism. He would need to place an ad in the paper for a new assistant if the previous one would not return and brace himself for having to meet with new exorcists, as the old team was unlikely to return without Mai.

Without even glancing at the caller ID—only persons of significant personal importance knew this number—he answered with a very curt "Hello".

"Is that offer still open?" Mai's voice asked from the other line, polite and distanced, yet somehow hopeful. Oliver drew the phone back from his ear to see that if he had merely glanced at the ID, he would have noted that Mai had called him back. But why? "I realize I hung up on you earlier, however, you really need to learn to gather more evidence before you make your conclusions, mister scientist."

Though confused at the sudden shift in disposition, Oliver smirked. It would be nice to have Mai back and working for him, especially if she seemed to have gained more spunk in the past couple of years. He hoped working with her now would be as entertaining as it had been four years ago.

"Yes, it is, though I do have one condition…"

_**AmyNChan: *disperses many, many tissues and runs away***_

_**Oliver: *looks after Amy* Chan-san has abandoned her reader's reactions.**_

_**Mai: Wouldn't you?**_

_**Oliver: No. My mind works differently from hers.**_

_**AmyNChan: *runs back up and pokes Naru on the shoulder* No, it doesn't!**_

_**Oliver: *holds out hand***_

_**Mai: *gives Oliver a few yen, muttering the entire way***_

_**AmyNChan: You guys were betting on me?!**_

_**Mai: *grins sheepishly***_

_**AmyNChan: Harumph!**_

_**Oliver: If you wish for more chapters, place your reaction to this chapter in the commentating section below.**_

_**AmyNChan: Please read and review~! *^_^***_


	6. Conditions and Clothes

**_AmyNChan: I'm so sorry this took so long..._**

**_Oliver: More writer's block?_**

**_AmyNChan: More like I couldn't find the time to edit. If I had foregone that step, I would have missed so many mistakes... I do that so often..._**

**_Oliver: It appears as though you are making a true effort._**

**_AmyNChan: How rude! I always make an effort._**

**_Oliver: *turns to the audience* Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt._**

**_AmyNChan: are you always gonna call me that..._**

"Are you certain this is a good idea?" Lin asked Oliver, the question having been hanging in the air all morning. The Chinese man and his wife were in Japan for the sole reason that Martin had insisted Oliver—although fairly adept—could not reestablish his old business overnight or without assistance already in place. He would need a small team to help him get situated in the office before reaching out to old contacts. Oliver, for his part, had requested that if a team were necessary for him to begin working in Japan once more that Lin would be on it. Of course, that would mean that the man's wife would be part of the package.

One head investigator, one lead researcher, and one Chinese omoyoji made a sufficient enough team to appease Martin as well as the head of the company itself. Oliver had arrived to Japan first in order to secure the office space and apartments that the group would require for the duration of their stay—however long that may be. Oliver supposed that if he could secure the team he needed, he might remain in Japan.

No, if he could ease the dissatisfaction he felt with his life—and he felt certain the answer lie in Japan somewhere—then he would remain. Should his hunch prove wrong, then he would return to England once more and see what lie in wait for him there.

"You have not questioned my methods before," the younger man replied, assisting his friend in moving the equipment about. Madoka would return later with furniture for the office, so that left the men with the arduous task of hauling the heavy equipment into the back room where the cameras and thermal imaging had been stored during their last stay here. Fortunately, the task was almost complete when Lin had felt the most uncharacteristic urge to question the genius he used to have charge over.

"You have never been driven by impulse before," Lin stated, his tone free of accusation, though Oliver knew it was there. The raven haired boss cast a cold look towards the other man in the room, the latter of which ignored it with a finesse that most of the original Japanese SPR team would kill to have. Not literally, of course, as they would not want to exorcise each other's spirits once dead.

"I would assume it has something to do with Taniyama-san's visit to the office scheduled for this morning," Lin continued, setting one monitor away in a place that was above even his own head. He did not need to see his young friend to know he had supposed one hundred percent correctly. The amplified intensity of the glare on his back was proof enough. However, the uncomfortable feeling began to abate as soon as it had come, indicating that Noll had stopped glaring at him. But why? Normally, the socially inept boy would glare for at least ten seconds longer than that. Something could be bothering him. It did not take a genius to figure out what it was.

"She is scheduled to come in at noon, after the office is properly set up and all of the equipment is safely stored," Oliver answered, placing another monitor in the room. He shelved it in its correct place before turning on his heel and walking outside, intent on grabbing the last of the shelving units from the van. Lin followed him, intent on gaining perspective on the young man's sudden shift in mood.

"I suppose this is because of the child that will be accompanying her into the office today," Lin stated aloud, referring to Noll's slight concern over the equipment being safely stored _before_ Taniyama-san's arrival. It was not a question nor a supposition, despite the word choice. Oliver shut the back of the van firmly and locked it swiftly. He did not like to be in the cold for very long.

"I would like to meet the child once and see what effect she has on Mai," Oliver returned robotically. In truth, he was extremely curious as well as very hesitant. He did not want to see a child with Mai's eyes and another man's chin. Or Mai's temper and another man's disposition. These thoughts made his teeth grit together and he clenched his hand. However, there was no logical reason to be angry if she were happy, or even to concern himself with her personal affairs. In an effort to tell himself why he cared so much, he mused over the idea that he was angry over the possibility that she could have a child and be _un_happy.

Perhaps that was it. He did not want his…

His what? Assistant? She had not worked for him in years. Friend? His last words to her had probably slammed that door firmly in his face. Acquaintance? No, far too formal. What was she to him, after all of this time? She was still important to him, somehow...

"Oliver, you would not be able to pass any sort of reasonable judgment on that child, simply because she _is_ a child and she is with Taniyama-san," Lin pointed out. Oliver frowned at the fact that Lin had pointed out one of his rather glaring flaws. His personal circle of friends and family knew that if a child were being harmed in a case, the chances of Oliver taking it would be one hundred percent, and that he would not intentionally do anything to make a child cry. However, idiot scientist is as idiot scientist does and he did make errors in talking with a few children that did result in their tears. At that point, another member of the team would comfort the child as Oliver continued to gather information.

"Be that as it may, this was the condition I set for her to be a part of my team once more," he asserted as Lin put the last of the equipment away. "I would like to meet the child."

Lin said nothing more on the subject, though he knew that his friend's judgment was clouded on the issue. The Chinese man, for his part, wondered how on earth their friend could have a child already, as she had not had any romantic interests by the time the two had left the office. Surely she had been heartbroken, and not the type to run to a stranger's arms for that kind of comfort. Still, Lin had to give the child credit. Based on Oliver's description of the conversation he had with her, she had back talked him within two moments of answering the phone. Any child with that amount of gall was worth meeting in his mind.

_I suppose we'll know when Taniyama-san comes in later…_ Lin mused, locking the equipment away. He turned around and walked into his old office, intent on reorganizing everything into a similar fashion to the way he had it four years ago.

* * *

"Let's see… they can't want it all _this_ bland, can they?" Madoka mused aloud as she walked around the furniture store. In her hand was a list that consisted of the chairs and table that Oliver wanted in the office. The chairs were all either black or a very dark grey while the table was to have a glass top. The walls would be white again, as Oliver had decided. In mind's eye, it would look very plain. The pinkette frowned.

"You can't expect clients to feel at ease if we're making them feel as though they're going to be interrogated…" the woman said aloud, placing her hands on her hips and shaking her head. The thought of her idiotic apprentice sometimes brought a smile to her face and other times made her want to strangle him. His people senses were definitely in need of an upgrade…

"Let's see if I can sneak some color in," she finally decided. The chairs would be the lightest dark grey she could find and she would look for some very nice serene pictures to hang on the walls. Maybe a lighthouse or a rice patty field. Maybe a picture of a playground. Maybe—

"Oh, excuse me," the pinkette apologized, turning to an older woman whom she had accidentally ran into. The woman had been reaching for something quite high for one of her height when Madoka had unintentionally knocked her over. She assisted the elder woman to her feet and apologized again.

"I'm so sorry, I wasn't watching where I was going, you see…" she explained. She omitted the portion of her thinking about what pictures to buy in order to make the office seem friendlier. It was not that important.

"Thank you, dearie," the woman returned, a smile coming out despite having just been knocked over. "That's the third time I've been pushed around today and yet you're the first person to apologize, much less help an old woman back to her feet."

"How rude," Madoka said, her eyes wide. Even _Oliver_ would help an old woman to her feet if he were at fault. Then again, she was being quite rude as well… "Where are my manners? My name is Lin Madoka. Pleased to meet you."

"Pleased to meet you, Lin-san," the elder woman smiled with a nod. "My name is Haru Chiyo. You can call me Chi-Obaa. Everyone does."

"Then feel free to call me Madoka," the pinkette smiled. This woman was quite friendly. "What were you reaching for?"

"Oh, my back is bad and I am in need of a stepping ladder for my house," Chi-Obaa admitted. She looked up to the second shelf above her head. It was a fairly nice one that looked as though it were made of bamboo. "I hate to trouble my children every time I need something from the upper shelves, so I thought it would be a good idea to get one for myself."

"That's a wonderful idea, though why they put it so high up is a mystery," Madoka said. "I mean, those who need a stepping ladder in the first place would need a stepping ladder just to get to this stepping ladder."

"You're not a fan of pronouns, are you?" Chi-Obaa asked, an amused twinkle in her eye. Madoka laughed at the elder woman's jest before walking up to the shelving unit and gathering the item from its place. She passed it down to the elderly woman with a laughing smile.

"I suppose it depends on my mood, Chi-Obaa," the woman laughed. The elder woman joined in the laughter as the bamboo product was placed in her cart.

"Thank you for your help, Madoka-chan," the elder woman smiled before reaching into her purse with a fumble. She withdrew a card and passed it over. "I'm afraid I can't give you anything other than my time for your help, but do drop by every now and again. My children tell me I make quite a mean batch of lemon cookies."

"I might take you up on that," Madoka answered. She rather liked Chi-Obaa, as she reminded her of her own grandmother.

"Until next time, then," Chi-Obaa smiled as she began to push her cart away. Madoka smiled as she returned to her own list, pocketing the card for future reference. She still wished Oliver or Koujo would allow her to get some color for the office. They were not running an interrogation service, you know!

* * *

"But why not?" Yui complained loudly in the middle of the store. She was still in her black onesie pajamas with her arms crossed over her front in defiance. Clasped securely in her arms was a black dress that she was refusing to relinquish her hold on. Next to her was Kazi, who had already gathered some clothes from the clearance rack. He had chosen a light green tee-shirt and a pair of brown cargo shorts. As it was, it turned out that their caretaker could only afford one outfit apiece for now if they wanted jackets to keep them warm. And Mai was not about to let the children run about in the middle of winter without coats.

Yet Yui had no clue as to why the woman did not want her to have this black dress. It was black and it was cool and she liked it!

"Because people are going to think you're going to a funeral…" Mai whispered, attempting not to cause a scene in the middle of the store. It was failing dismally as Yui decided to stomp her foot on the ground and keep an even tighter hold on the dress she had in her arms.

"But black is cool! My daddy wears it all the time, so I get to, too!" Yui exclaimed. Her eyes were narrowed dangerously and Mai had a feeling she would not be able to win this fight very easily. However, before she could say another word, Yui turned to her brother with a pout. "Yes he does!"

Mai looked from Yui to Kazi then back to Yui again. Ever since they had woken up from their impromptu nap, they had been doing this a lot. Yui had been saying random things about their mother and father. Nothing that would really help her to identify them in the street, just how awesome her dad was and how Kazi really missed their mom, but it was sweet to hear her chatter about their lives. Mai really wanted to get these kids back home and safe, but she had to find out who the parents were first. Yet, for some reason, it seemed as though the children did not want her knowing who they were at all, not even to help in returning them.

This was all so confusing.

"Kazi told me to tell you that daddy doesn't wear black _all_ the time, that he's got other colors, too, but he wears black most of the time!" Yui insisted. Her mouth was pressed in a firm line and somehow Mai knew that if she did not let the girl get this dress, then she would simply find more clothes that were black in color. The fight that would ensue would make them all late for her appointment with SPR, so the woman sighed and decided to relent for now.

"You can get the dress if you agree to wear at least a bit of extra color so people don't think you're going to a funeral," Mai conceded. Once she did, Yui visibly relaxed and—for the first time since she had met the child—she smiled. She hugged the dress with much gusto and Mai wondered why on earth a simple black dress would make her so happy.

Still, she was happy so now Mai could turn to Kazi. She frowned when she saw the shorts.

"Kazi, you're going to get cold if you wear those shorts," Mai told him softly. The boy frowned and held onto the shorts, silently pleading with her to let him have them. In his little cowboy pajamas, he looked very adorable and Mai was tempted to just let him have the shorts right then and there. However, the desire to keep him from becoming sick with a cold kept her pressing on the subject.

"Kazi doesn't get cold very easy," Yui said, batting for her brother. Mai turned her attention to the young girl who had been smiling moments earlier. Now she wore a serious expression and a frown. "He only starts sneezing when it's really, really cold, and even then he doesn't do anything except sneeze. He's weird."

"What's really, really cold?" Mai asked. She knew that Tokyo could go as low as minus two degrees Celsius, and that was fairly nippy. Yui thought about it for a moment, scratching her head. Suddenly, she turned to her brother with an embarrassed scowl.

"I-I knew that!" she defended herself against his silent statement. Mai wondered how on earth the children seemed to know what the other was saying without actually speaking a word. She had heard Yui a lot over the morning, but Kazi had not said a single word. He was the definition of quiet, and it was slightly unsettling to Mai. Still, the children seemed comfortable with it so she felt she should not cause a huge fuss over it. "He says that it gets cold around minus five degrees Celsius. Daddy did a test and figured it out when we were really little."

"So your daddy likes to do tests then?" Mai asked. Maybe if she could get some information on the tests he did, she could narrow her search to a sort of facility that would allow him to complete such tests. It was better than nothing. Her hopes were dashed as Yui shook her head.

"Daddy and Mommy don't _like_ doing tests with us," Yui said, refusing to look Mai in the eye. Not even as the woman who was caring for them took the black dress she had fought for from her hands. Kazi handed over his clothes quietly as they made their way to the shoe department. "They only test us when they have to. To keep us from getting hurt."

"Getting hurt?" Mai asked. Could it be that the safety of the children was a continuous problem? Could the parents have finally sent the children away for their own protection? A pang in her heart screamed at her that it was not so. But still, nothing seemed to make sense when she tried to unravel this mystery…

"I want these shoes!" Yui declared, pulling out a pair of black dress shoes. Mai sighed sadly. Would she be toting around a child who wore nothing but black?

* * *

"Remember to be polite," Mai reminded the two as she ascended the stairs of Shibuya Psychic Research. It was the same building they had used years ago. The woman felt a pang of remembrance as she went up the stairs. Only this time, she had two additions with her.

"But, mom!" Yui complained. Mai sighed in exasperation. Ever since that cashier had asked if the children were hers, Yui had taken to calling her 'mom'. Mai felt as though the child were attempting to get back at her for being invasive and continuing to ask questions about their parents. Whatever the reason, no matter how many times the woman had asked her to cease and desist or call her something else—such as nee-san or oba-san—the child would persist.

It was a battle of wills that the child was currently winning.

"If you keep calling me that, people are going to think that you're actually my daughter," Mai sighed. She kept a firm hold on both of the children's hands as she entered the office. "And besides, I'm sure that when you do see your mother again, she won't take kindly to you calling me 'mom'. She might actually hate me for it…"

"She won't mind," Yui declared, letting go of Mai's hand as soon as they had entered the office. Kazi stayed with Mai as she attempted to chase the young girl down.

"Yui! This is a place of business! Don't run around so much," she attempted to warn, though it appeared as though Yui were not listening to her. She ducked in and under the boxes that were around the office, exploring everything. It was not very long before Kazi removed himself from Mai as well and joined his sister in her exploration. Mai could not get the children to settle before—

"Hello, Mai," a familiar voice stated from behind. The woman would have gulped had her throat not gone instantly dry. As calmly as she could, she forced herself to turn around and look that idiot man in the eyes. Into his devilishly handsome blue eyes.

"Good afternoon," she returned, attempting to sound calm. They both seemed to know she was anything but.

This was going to be one long interview.

**_AmyNChan: Okay, I hope you enjoyed it so far! I'll do my best to keep writing and updating!_**

**_Mai: *face palms* This is gonna be so awkward..._**

**_AmyNChan: Only if you make it so. XD_**

**_Mai: *buries head in hands*_**

**_Kazi: *holds up a sign, asking you to review*_**

**_Yui: You read it. Review, people!_**

**_AmyNChan: Yui! Say please!_**

**_Yui: *walks off*_**

**_AmyNChan: grrrr..._**


	7. Battle of Wills Royale

**_AmyNChan: I made it! Barely!_**

**_Oliver: For Christmas, I assume._**

**_AmyNChan: *nods before flopping on the bed, grateful to have done this chapter*_**

**_Mai: AmyChan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!_**

There were three things of which Mai was made aware of very quickly. One: Oliver had grown almost _too_ handsome since they had last seen each other. His shoulders were broad and his stance firm. His clothes were still that black hue, yet his hands fell relaxed at his sides—a first she had ever seen. His deep blue eyes were scrutinizing her, examining her for every secret she could possibly hold, and she would have been content to tell. More than content, actually. She wanted to open her heart to him if only he asked. However, she knew she should not. This man would have to _work_ to have her back completely. It was an effort she was interested to see if he would even _attempt_ to make.

Two: Gene had somehow known of his brother's imminent return. It could have been why his teasing had made a surprisingly earnest comeback the night before and why he had stated her schedule would not be hectic for much longer. That would have meant Oliver's planning to come back would have taken quite a while. Mai somehow found it in herself to wonder as to why Oliver's trip to Japan would have taken such a long time to think out. Could it perhaps be...permanent?

Three: The world was about to explode.

Mai's eyes had widened as Yui and Kazi came out of their hiding place—behind one of the boxes in what had been the kitchenette four years ago—and ran towards the two adults. Mai had assumed they were bolting for her—that the stare down between former boss and assistant might have unnerved them—but was entirely surprised when Yui bypassed her easily and darted for Oliver's leg. The instant the child had latched onto the man, Mai had sucked in a breath with wide eyes.

_Not good, not good, not good..._ Mai chanted in her head. She tried to think of some reason as to why the little girl would attack Oliver with such vigor, but came up blank. It seemed as though the man was also surprised by his sudden new attachment.

"Mai, explain to me as to why your child has attempted to capture my leg," Oliver stated. Though, despite his lack of manners and completely off-base assumption, Mai could not find it in herself to be very angry at that moment. She was angry with him, yes, yet she felt more relieved than anything else. The world was not about to explode or die spontaneously because a small child had attached herself to Oliver Davis.

"You worried mom," Yui scolded the male she was currently attached to, jerking Mai out of her brief bliss.

"_Yui_, I told you, I'm not—"

"I said she doesn't mind," Yui interrupted, holding onto her current anchor all the more tightly. Almost as though she believed that the raven-haired man would protect her from whatever Mai had to say. The woman dared not look up into his face to see what he was thinking of this entire situation. She attempted to focus in on the small child who was still insisting very much to have her own way. "I don't think daddy will either."

"That's assuming an awful lot, Yui," Mai scolded. "The title of mommy and daddy is earned through years of taking care of you and loving you and being there for you when you need it most. You can't just assume that your real mommy and daddy would take very kindly to you just giving me that name. You have to think about how they would feel."

"I _am_ thinking about how they feel!" Yui shouted from her position. Her fist clenched itself on Oliver's pant leg, but Mai took no notice of that in favor of the frustration that was coming off the girl in waves. "You didn't turn us away when we were tired and cold. We would have gotten really, really hurt if you did. I'd say Mommy and Daddy wouldn't mind if I called you Mommy for a while. Besides, Kazi's doing it, too!"

_Yu—_ Kazi's thought was broken apart by his sister, who was staring at him with an intenseness that should not be on any child's face. In it, the girl told her brother that she knew she had said too much, but she was tired of arguing with this woman. She needed this sense of normalcy. Kazi nodded reluctantly. That much, he could understand.

"Am I interrupting something?" a new voice asked from the front doorway. All four persons turned to see an elderly looking man with a suit and tie, draping his coat over his arm and wearing an expression that clearly asked for help.

* * *

"Thank you, young lady," the man—now introduced as Akihiko Sawamura—said gratefully as Mai placed a cup of nice warm tea in front of the man. It was only due to keeping up appearances for the business that Oliver got a cup as well. Mai was not officially hired yet and she had still been ordered to make tea when the client had come into the door. Yui and Kazi had scampered off into Oliver's office and had hidden themselves away. Mai was unsure if the raven haired man was pleased or annoyed with their decision to stay out of sight until the man had gone.

"Sawamura-san, tell us why you've come to SPR," Oliver instructed, his black notebook at the ready. Mai made an observable effort not to roll her eyes. Her eyes did not roll. Therefore, her efforts were observable.

"Ah, yes, I'm here on behalf of the Togo company concerning one of their properties, the Hanayashiki amusement park," Sawamura-san explained. Mai made a connection, yet refrained from speaking out of turn. The Hanayashiki amusement park was the same location inviting tourists to come and "test their mettle" against their haunted apparitions. "Lately, there have been some disturbances. While we attempted to make the most of the strange occurrences, there has already been one injury and we cannot afford a repeat incident."

"Describe the nature of the injury," Oliver said. Sawamura-san seemed eager to oblige, yet only produced a file.

"The details are here in this folder, yet we cannot give them to you unless we have complete assurance of confidentiality," the man stated, placing the file on the table in front of him. No one made any move to gather it from its place, and Mai quickly found herself silently observing a battle of wills, the winner of which was predetermined in the woman's head. Surely, if Oliver was anything similar to how he had been in the past, he would not fall for this cheap ploy.

"You come here asking for my assistance, and yet when we attempt to gather preliminary information necessary to deem if your case is truly paranormal you bar our progress with conditions of absolute secrecy, informing me exactly what you think of my business," the boss observed. "If you are to stand in the way of investigation at this stage, it would be easily assumed that there is something going on that you do not wish uncovered, and that may prove to be dangerous at a later point."

"I assure you, only the secrecy of those involved is being protected," Sawamura-san replied. Despite his seemingly cool in the situation, even Mai could see the sweat on his upper lip. He was staring directly into Oliver's eyes and seemed to be refusing to break the connection until he was believed. "We have an obligation to our customers to ensure the protection of their identities, as this person has asked that only those on a need-to-know basis are made aware of the true events unfolding."

"With all due respect, if that is the attitude this person has taken up, then perhaps this is merely a breech in security or protocol," Oliver stated, and Mai could tell in his voice that he was done. She knew that even back in the day where SPR was a fully operational facility he had hated to be strung along, and that was exactly what Sawamura-san was attempting to do.

"I can assure you it's not," the elderly man stated, his eyes getting wide. He was realizing that he was losing his chances at getting the assistance he required.

"I have no proof," the young man returned, his eyes narrowing. "I do not have the time for games as you do, Sawamura-san. If you want our help you must be forthcoming with information that could be pertinent to the case. If you are not, then the door is situated behind you and you may take your leave at any time."

It was not long before Mai noted that the cup of tea she had gotten for herself had long since run cold. Yet, she could not bring herself to break the heavy tension in the air to heat it back up once more. She waited patiently for the client to fold.

And fold he did. Sawamura-san took his folder and held it for a few moments. Mai could tell in the tensing of his legs that he prepared to stand and leave seven different times while he sat there. What surprised her was Oliver's newfound sense of patience. Were it four years ago, Mai was sure he would have gotten up and walked into his office by now.

_But he was also looking for his brother four years ago…_ she reminded herself. She wondered how much of what she knew about Oliver was going to have to be reevaluated in the light of new knowledge. His urgency of time, was that due to his pressing need to find Eugene? Or perhaps his aversion to Christmas. Now that Eugene had been found and buried properly, could he now find enjoyment in the holidays? Mai knew she was unbearably curious, but had little hope of ever being close enough to the man she had once known to find the answers. He would first have to wish to be her friend again, a hope that Mai felt would be better squashed now. Yet she could not—for the life of her—squash it.

In the recesses of her mind, she could swear that she heard a certain ghost laughing at her problems.

"I see now why you were so insistent on secrecy," Oliver stated, his eyes tactfully going over the folder, absorbing its contents at a rapid pace. Mai tuned back into the conversation, eager to be privy to this new information that suddenly made her boss so understanding.

_Not technically my boss yet, he still hasn't given me the job…_ she thought, subtly biting her lip. It was a nervous habit of hers that she had not quite kicked yet. She needed the job, but Oliver had not technically given her the position yet. Would she be allowed to look at the information, much less take the case, if she were not technically employed here?

If not, then what the heck was she still doing in that room, sipping tea, as if she had every right to be there? Oliver had not kicked her out yet, so that had to be a good sign. She would have to ask later, after the client had left.

"…my assistant your information and we will get back to you on the condition of your case," Oliver stated as he stood. Taking their social cues, Mai and Sawamura-san rose to their feet as well. Without saying anything else, the raven-haired man quickly made his way into his office, closing the door behind him. A thought struck Mai and she was about to warn him, however—

"Young miss?" Sawamura-san asked, jarring the woman from her thoughts. She smiled long enough to take his contact information, assure him that Oliver was the best in the business and if his case was properly accepted then it would be resolved, hear his concerns about _not_ exorcising the specter, and show him out the door. It was then that Mai allowed her face to show her concern as she marched up to Oliver's office door and open it without so much as a knock.

"Yes, Mai?" Oliver asked nonchalantly as he sat at his desk. Yui and Kazi were sitting on a couch—not even free from its cellophane wrapping—observing the man with wide eyes. The woman looked from the children to the man she had once known to the children again, as if seeing them together for the first time. She blinked. Then again. Were her eyes deceiving her? Her instincts were pretty much screaming at her, and she knew she could not be wrong. But how was that possible? It certainly was not _probable..._

"I—uh… I wanted to know if I had my old job back…" Mai responded numbly. If she had cared at the moment, she would have been briefly annoyed by the scoff that Oliver produced in response to her question.

"You have fulfilled the condition I set in order for you to return to the position of my assistant," he stated, as though that in itself were an answer enough to her question. When Mai did not leave, he knew that clarification was in order. He did so by withdrawing a stack of papers—possibly ten leaflets filled with legalities and her job description—and passing them over to the confused woman. "This is your working contract. Sign and the job will be yours once more."

"I didn't have to sign a working contract before…" Mai recalled as she sat down. If her constant job hopping within the past few years had taught her anything, it was to always read the working contract. Thoroughly. Three times. Otherwise, the employer could and would put anything inside to protect themselves from legal consequences of unfavorable actions. Mai had only gotten out of _that_ job by the skin of her teeth and with merely two hundred yen to her name.

"You were a minor before, and your working contract had been signed by your principal," Oliver corrected. Mai frowned. In the two years she had worked for Oliver, she had not once gotten a renewal of that working contract. Perhaps it was because she had still been a minor at the time of SPR's disbanding. Perhaps that was it.

"I want to change this one," Mai stated out loud after finding something that she felt did not really attribute to ghost hunting at all.

"Give me one reason why I should," Oliver countered. He knew what she had found—and had been rather shocked when she had sat down, deciding to _read_ through the working contract—and he did not want to change it. He had gone four years without and he knew that having her in front of his office without being able to order her about would be pure torture.

"Because I would do it for free if you would just use your manners and you know it," the woman jabbed. She would not move on until this portion of her working contract was resolved. She knew it was going to be a bit of a battle by the way Oliver refused to look her in the eye.

"That's not a reason. That is a statement informing me that I can either pay you to do the job or use unnecessary words to get you to do the same job. I prefer paying you," he informed her. He knew she was going to be difficult by the way she was refusing to read any more on the page. They were most obviously at an impasse, neither willing to budge.

"And I prefer actually hearing manners rather than an order," she returned. "I've had several jobs over the years, and those that actually use manners to get what they want often have a greater efficiency track than those that don't."

"The only efficiency that my lack of manners on this subject hurts is the time it takes you to make tea," Oliver denied. Mai's eyes narrowed. She was in this for the long haul.

"There's the time we spent arguing about it, the time I waited for you to say thank you—which you probably wouldn't have to do if you said please in the first place, I'm good with any type of manners—and the amount of time I had to take to cool my head before getting back to work," Mai revealed, counting off on her fingers. "In all, that was about an extra five minutes per cup of tea that was wasted. Only about six cups makes that half an hour's worth of work not done for the sake of your stubborn pride."

Oliver's eyebrow quirked upward slightly. When had Mai been able to do quick arithmetic in her head, much less use it as a factual piece of evidence in a debate? The Mai he had known still had trouble with basic algebra.

"Then perhaps you should not argue with me when I tell you to make the tea, and nor should you wait for that which will not happen," the young man sidestepped. When Mai's face blossomed red with rage, he could not find it in himself to take her as a threat. Instead, he was rather amused. And felt nostalgic for it.

_I missed this…_ he thought, not realizing how true the statement was until it had crossed his mind. Indeed, when Mai had first worked with him, their constant arguments had helped him to deal with the grief. No, that was not right. It assisted him in realizing that his grief was still there, yet aided him in not allowing said grief to overtake him. Their arguments had kept Oliver Davis in line until his brother's body could be found. However, now that there was no psychological need for the arguments and that he was participating in them for fun, he could truly see how entertaining they were. Such a realization caused his lip to quirk upward in a smirk.

"Serving tea is something very personal to me and I refuse to be paid for such a service. However, if I'm not being paid for it, you can't demand it of me because you're my boss. As such, I can refuse to serve you tea until you actually use those manners that Madoka-san told me you have," Mai frowned. Making tea was something her mother had taught her long ago. Her mother had often said that tea helped bring peace to the soul, and if that were true then Mai would like for those skills to be used towards that purpose. The first time around she had no idea that tea-making was actually a part of the job, and it had killed her a little inside whenever Oliver would not say please or thank you for a service she held so close to her heart.

She was now fighting back. At least, that was what she had told herself as she passed the contract back to Oliver to redraft. The man only stared at the papers for a few moments while she glared at him. No, she was not _ogling_ him, despite the vague thoughts through the back of her mind about what it would be like to run her hands through his hair…

"I suppose if I'm deprived of tea, you'll be deprived of basking in my presence," Oliver stated, grabbing the papers from her. It took all of the willpower she had in her arsenal to not accuse him of all his narcissistic tendencies, because in the end, she had accomplished her mission.

She was barely able to hold her smirk in check as she watched him change the working contract.

**_AmyNChan: Mai, I'm so proud of yooouuuu!_**

**_Mai: I'm proud of me, too! I stood up to Naru and won!_**

**_Oliver: I wouldn't be so sure about that._**

**_Mai: ?_**

**_AmyNChan: Unfortunately, he's right. I'll get to writing that ASAP._**

**_Mai: Why can't I ever win?_**

**_AmyNChan: Read a majority of the fanfics on this site. You usually win in the end._**

**_Mai: *grumbles*_**

**_AmyNChan: Please read and review, people! *^_^* AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!_**


	8. First Case Back

**_AmyNChan: Okay, I wanted to get the ball rolling on this a little bit._**

**_Mai: It's a case!_**

**_AmyNChan: Sorta._**

**_Mai: Huh?_**

**_Oliver: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt._**

**_AmyNChan: But I do own Yui and Kazi, the little snots~! *hugs*_**

**_Mai and Oliver: *sweat drop*_**

"Mai-chan, you're going with me on that roller coaster," Madoka announced, looking at the impressively tall structure that stood before them. The twenty year old woman merely cast the ride a passing glance before tightening her grip on the two children who looked absolutely enamored with their surroundings. Yui looked as though she were about to explode out of her skin in excitement while Kazi kept squirming every which way to see everything there was possibly to see in one go.

"I don't think that's…" Mai attempted to say, only to be cut off by a certain boss of hers.

"This is not a time for vacation or leisure," Oliver stated bluntly. Mai was surprised when his tone of voice even caused the children to still their actions for a moment. "We have merely been employed to root out the cause of the mysterious phenomena, assess the possible risk, and then leave."

"What, no exorcism?" Mai asked, slightly confused. In the cases she had worked before SPR's first dissolution, every client had requested that their strange occurrences be stopped, ergo the exorcisms. Oliver scoffed, though the children seemed to be listening with wide eyes and intense focus.

"Sawamura-san has asked that we not remove the entity unless it is a large threat to the safety of Hanayashiki's customers," Oliver reminded her. Were her hands not occupied with the hands of children, Mai would have shaken her fist at his holier-than-thou attitude. Since her re-hiring two days ago, he had locked himself away in his office, not bothering to see her unless he was asking her to call up the client and inform him that his case had been accepted. Other than that, zilch. Absolutely nothing. And Mai was beginning to get sick of it.

"He only wants an assessment check?" Madoka asked, her face alight with confusion and a spattering of disdain. Upon a nod from her former student, the pinkette's frown intensified. "That's so wrong…"

"What is?" Mai asked, looking from face to face in order to riddle out exactly what it was that had made one of her most cheerful friends so upset. Surprisingly, it was not one of the adults that answered her, but rather, little Yui.

"People shouldn't poke fun at ghosts. They're people, too, you know!" the little girl stated loudly. Mai wondered if anyone else noticed that the child cast a sidelong glance at Oliver after she had said it, a small amount of hesitance coloring her face but only for a moment. Was she looking for approval? From Oliver? But why?

"A majority of the time, yes, spirits were once living people as we are accustomed to seeing them on a day-to-day basis," Oliver agreed, completely bulldozing the look that the small child had given him only moments ago. Mai could not place it, but she wanted to drag his narcissistic butt back and force him to acknowledge the small girl whose feelings he had completely ignored.

She, however, did not get the chance as her boss immediately began to set orders.

"Lin, Madoka, start taking the equipment to base. We can start setting up the monitors and prepare them for when we set up the video and audio equipment after hours," the raven haired man ordered. To this, he received an "aye-aye captain" and a dutiful nod of the head. "Mai, once you check the children into the center, you will come with me for interviewing purposes."

Mai could feel herself sigh in relief when Oliver did not repeat his blatant mistake, though felt a twinge of guilt when she realized that his efforts at correcting himself were only in vain. The only way she would have been able to bring Yui and Kazi along—a move that was very much encouraged by Gene, who reminded her that they still might have something paranormal after them which a normal babysitter might not comprehend the repercussions of—was to take the facility up on their children's day care. As the care was free of charge for children of workers, she had forced herself to not correct anyone on the true identities of the children's parents, and even encourage the deception for their own safety.

For now, at least.

* * *

"No," Yui stated firmly, glaring at the woman who Mai was to be dropping the children off with. Mai, who was quickly becoming used to the small girl's rebellious nature, sighed in frustration. Could she possibly have _one_ time where the girl agreed to do something peaceably? Of course not…

"You can't stay with us on the case, it's too dangerous," the woman responded, shooting down the idea of either of them staying in base, which Yui had been pleading for. "Besides, it won't be bad here. I'm sure they have better cooking than I do, at least."

"No," the little girl reiterated, her eyes in narrow slits. Mai was at the end of her patience when she hefted the small child up into the air, stepped over the threshold, and placed her down once more. The girl struggled mightily as Mai dropped her off and made a beeline for the gate, which she was able to seal before Yui could catch up with her. The angry child collided with the gate and lifted her hands to pound against the barrier as the woman attempted to slip away.

"That's not fair!" Yui yelled as Mai made her getaway. One of the workers followed the woman out, though for what reason, Yui could not fathom. She was merely very, _very_ angry that she had been dumped at this place filled with stupid, smelly _babies_. Realizing that her temper tantrum was earning her odd looks from the other workers, the girl detached herself from the door with a shred of dignity left and resigned herself to glaring furiously at the gate until mom returned for them. Mom _had_ to return for them. She just _had_ to.

Kazi watched as his sister glared at the gate. He knew where they were, and he knew he could get them out of there if he needed to. Until then, he would be here and hold his sister's hand, hoping that such a simple action would calm her down. He hoped as he grasped her hand lightly.

The worker soon returned without Mai in tow and Yui crinkled her nose. Angry thoughts filled her head as she refused to even _talk_ to the woman who assured her that she would be taken good care of.

Neither of the children bought it.

* * *

"…thank you for your time." Mai bid yet another 'victim' farewell. In the course of gathering information, she and Oliver had discovered that much of their possible data could very well be other visitors, intent on making fools out of the Togo company and—by extension—themselves. Loud rapping noises and moving objects that were warm to the touch. While both were definite criteria set forth by Tisane himself, each could be easily explained by factors such as weather and the sheer amount of people in the park every day. In other words, none of the victims had been in the park whilst after hours or while there were no other people around to contaminate the results. As such, most of their witness accounts were useless.

Obviously, Oliver's thoughts were similar as he put no effort forth in hiding his growing frustration. It was there in the tightening of his eyes and the rigidity of his posture. In his deep-set frown and in his hands that were clasped just a _little_ too tightly for a man who was not in prayer.

"Hello? Is this SPR?" a small female voice asked, bringing Mai out of her observations. The woman turned in order to see a young girl—possibly no older than thirteen—standing in the doorway. If it were not for the bags under her eyes, the shyness in her posture, or the tremble in her tone, Mai would have been able to see her beauty far more swiftly. The young girl had brown hair in a long braid down her back, and deep set chocolate eyes. She was taller in her frame, but not so much that her age was obscured. In all, pretty but very worn.

"Yes, may we help you?" Mai asked, being sure to show the girl as much warmth as possible. When the girl saw Mai's smile, she seemed to feel just a little more comfortable, and she took a shy step into the room upon hearing a confirmation.

"I—I ran into some trouble last week and I was told to talk to you," she explained herself, looking around. Mai smiled as she silently welcomed the girl inside. The child smiled as she entered the room, all the while nervously tugging at her hair. Mai was about to offer the poor teenager something warm and soothing to drink when her boss beat her to the punch. Talking about business, of course.

"I read your file," Oliver stated. The girl's face whitened a little bit, and Mai was a hair's breadth away from scolding the man when she saw it. A glint in his eye that was not very driven, yet had all the focus of the world. It was gone in a blink. "Tell me, in your own words, what happened to you the night of the seventeenth."

"Take the time you need, okay?" Mai added on, seeing that her boss was putting the girl through unneeded pressure. The child nodded and Mai cast a sour look to her boss. What was he thinking? The event _obviously_ bothered her. Could he at least ask with a touch more _tact_?

"I—I was near the fun house," the girl started. "Mom just left me there to go talk to Sawamura-shi because the park had just shut down for the night. No one was there and I didn't want to go in the fun house…"

"Why was that?" Oliver interjected. The girl jumped slightly, not having expected to be interrupted.

"Because it's really creepy at night…" she admitted. At Oliver's nod, the girl continued. "Like I said, I didn't want to go in there, but then… then I felt someone yank on my hair. It hurt a lot and I ended up going inside the fun house anyways. I didn't want to…"

"Tell us what happened after you went into the fun house," Oliver prodded. Mai barely restrained herself from scolding him in front of the client. The young girl took a deep breath and forced back a few tears.

"After I fell in, the glass started shattering all around me… It didn't take very long, but I can't remember being that scared in my life…" the girl shuddered, obviously recalling the night that had happened almost a week ago. Mai observed her for a moment, taking in her story. It was completely unlike the others she had been listening to for the past four hours. A vast majority of the others had come in with wild stories of floating specters or dramatic events that showcased bravery. Both Mai and Oliver had been able to weed out the fakes fairly quickly.

"Tell us what happened before the glass began to break. Did your mother and yourself have an argument? Was there something said or something that happened that stuck out to you that night?" Oliver requested. His eyes were scanning his black notebook and Mai knew he was making connections with that different brain of his. She was glad _someone_ was, because she felt lost as to why he would ask such things of her.

"Does it matter?" the girl asked, her tone suddenly taking an edgy and somewhat aggressive tone. Mai switched her attention back to the child almost instantly, surprised by the abrupt change. Oliver was not phased in the slightest. He kept an even watch over the girl for a few moments, observing as she became more tense with every passing moment, as though anticipating further questioning. Interesting.

"No. You may go," he dismissed her. Mai frowned heavily at her boss. Manners. Had the guy ever _heard_ of them?

"I'm sorry, I'm sure what he _means_ to say is thank you for your time," Mai corrected, showing the girl to the door while shooting a glare at her boss. Who promptly ignored it. The brown haired woman felt her fuse grow shorter and shorter with each passing moment that the insensitive and uncaring jerk refused to showcase actual etiquette.

"Oh, okay…" the girl said, rather startled at the sudden sendoff. The tension in the air felt almost as suffocating as home, and she was rather inclined to make a hasty retreat.

"What gives?" Mai asked as soon as the girl was far enough away that she would not be able to hear the woman scold her boss. She already had a slight inkling as to what was going on in this haunted amusement park, yet she wanted to hear it from him, to make sure she had gotten it right. Also, there was the small fact that she was still putting it together in her mind. It was a work in progress.

"Nothing 'gives', Mai," Oliver quipped, remaining secretive. Mai frowned as he gathered up his papers and seemed to be preparing for something. Most likely more research, as there were no more victims to be interviewed that Mai knew of.

"Okay, I'll guess then," Mai snapped. The raven haired man made no move to stop her in her suppositions. He was either encouraging them or did not care. Mai, despite herself, wished to believe it was the former. "You would be thinking that the girl was lying if you didn't have the file that proved her injuries. I haven't seen it, but you sorta came to when that little girl walked in the room, so you either have a thing for jailbait or you'd seen her before. And if you'd seen her before, it was because you met or because you saw her in that file. The chances of you two _actually_ meeting before now isn't very likely, so I think it was because you'd seen her in that file."

Oliver had scoffed at the jailbait comment, but had not otherwise given any indication that Mai had been wrong in her assessment. This was enough to allow her to continue her ideas.

"Everyone else today has given us almost the exact same rundown: objects moving or strange noises," the woman continued. "Though even _I_ could tell that half of them were wishful thinking spurred on by the slight hype this place has gotten. Only four of them have actually come in contact with whatever's happening here."

At this point, Oliver had closed his book and was looking at her with mild interest. Possibly to see how far her logic would take her. Mai was determined to impress, so she pressed on.

"Those four had similar stories, but their reactions were real. Each of them encountered the rapping, the moving objects, and the heat. You asked them each where they were when the activity happened, but the surprising thing is that they were all over the park. One was near the roller coaster, another by the food court, one was by the restrooms, and the last one was next to that spinny ride." Mai chose to ignore Oliver as he scoffed once more at her terminology. Yet this scoff had almost sounded like…

Nah.

"Their locations were diverse, what does this tell you?" Oliver prompted, bringing Mai back on track. She was embarrassed to have been on a roll and distracted so easily. She flushed red and refused to look him in the eye. He would never laugh for her anyways.

"Whatever's going on in here is mobile, so if it's paranormal, it's not a ghost haunting the tracks, that's for sure," Mai told him. "And if it were any sort of land subsidence, the locations would have some sort of pattern to them, but the way it is now is just too random to make any kind of sense. There's no path in between them, and we haven't heard anything about the areas between them from a reliable source."

"What do you think is the problem, then?" he asked. He was interested to see what sort of answer Mai would come up with. Back when he had known her, she had never shown this amount of initiative, nor had she possessed this ability of linear logical thinking. He wondered what had brought about this change.

"Well, if it were just a high concentration of feelings—Bou-san and Ayako had a case like that a few months back—then every amusement park and museum in the world would have this problem to an extent, so that's out," Mai thought aloud, trying to root out the problem. In her thought process, she had crossed her arms over herself and had found herself looking at the monitors to her left. "It could be that some_one_ is haunted, rather than some_thing_. But that would mean the person would have to be here a lot and was there at every real incident.

"But that's assuming that an actual ghost is behind all of this…" Mai said, allowing herself to trail off. From there, her thoughts took on a whirlwind, pulling information from her entire career and side job as a ghost hunter. Especially from the beginning.

"I'm surprised," Oliver announced, his tone bland but his words earnest. Mai felt a warmth spread through her chest at his words. "You're thinking about this job seriously and eliminating possibilities one by one, giving an explanation for each item you cross off. I expected you to blurt out the first answer that came to your mind with no reasoning or logic to it whatsoever."

"That's a good thing," Mai asserted, turning to glare at the man. Honestly, she thought he would be _impressed_ if she actually showed him that she could think academically from time to time. It had taken a while for her to realize that this was what Oliver had meant by his brain working differently. He had always thought in a school-like environment, where answers and clues were given to you if you only cared to look for them. The realization had come on in an epiphany during psychology class two semesters ago. While Mai could use that sort of thinking for cases now, she could never imagine being stuck in such a linear thought process every day for her entire life.

That would be so boring!

"You're still missing the final piece of the puzzle, though," Oliver announced, returning his eye to his notes. Mai fumed at him for a moment. Could the man seriously not just give her a compliment and let her think she had done well?

"What, pray tell, is that?" the cinnamon-eyed woman seethed, glaring at him. He read on for a few moments before finally retrieving the information he wanted. He snapped his notebook shut and easily glided to the base door, where he got another tongue lashing from Mai. "Hey! It's rude to walk away when someone's talking to you!"

"Go check on the children and tell them they may only spend one night here," Oliver said, not looking her in the eye as he said it. "This case is almost solved."

Before Mai could ask what he had meant by that, Oliver Davis had left the room.

**_AmyNChan: Okay, thank you all so much for your reviews! They help me keep my storyline straight and remind me to add this, that, and the other in as explanations and whanot~! *^_^*_**

**_Mai: So please keep reviewing to keep this story in check!_**

**_Yui: You heard! Review!_**

**_Kazi: *holds up a sign that says "Please"*_**


	9. What Do You Mean?

**_AmyNChan: Okay, I know it's been a while, but things popped up. As some of you know, I'm raising money to go on a trip to Italy._**

**_Naru: To that end, she had taken on three jobs at once._**

**_AmyNChan: Right. I finished two of the jobs yesterday, and now I have slightly more time to work on my fanfiction. Still, I'm sorry I made you guys wait!_**

**_Mai: Now that that's settled, Amy-chan doesn't own Ghost Hunt, only a few of the characters!_**

**_AmyNChan: Enjoy~! *^_^*_**

"I'm _sure_ he's just got this case all _wrapped up_," Mai seethed as she made her way from the base to the child care center, which happened to be on the other side of the amusement park. Somehow, her red-hot anger managed to keep the winter chill away as she continued to fume. "He doesn't even _need_ my input on this; it's probably just a _cinch_ to him! He's got it _all_ under control. If this case was so _easy_, why did he take it in the first place?"

The chilled air was so inviting for a woman such as Mai, who desperately needed to vent her frustrations about her boss. She needed a listening ear and it seemed as though an empty amusement park was only far too willing to give it.

"Empty…?" Mai questioned aloud, searching her surroundings. Sure enough, not a single person was to be found. The entire area was desolate and the sun was rapidly setting. If the woman had to guess, she would say that operating hours had only just recently ended. The lights of the park were beginning to dim and go out one by one. Mai checked her watch. Seven pm. The park had closed to the public merely an hour ago.

"Excuse me, miss?" a familiar voice asked, causing the woman to nearly jump out of her skin in fright. She turned to see the young girl that had escaped base only moments ago, already changed into an outfit that told the elder woman her young companion worked at the facility.

"Jeez! You scared me," Mai complained good-naturedly, massaging her heart. She released a nervous chuckle as the girl did not respond. Mai looked upon her in worry. "Are you all right…er…?"

"Isuzu," the girl responded simply, omitting her family name. Mai raised an eyebrow, but did not comment on her secrecy. She knew that Oliver had the file, so if the girl were dangerous he would have at least informed her. At least, she hoped he would.

"Well, Isuzu-san, what are you doing here by yourself after hours?" Mai asked, making conversation. The girl merely pointed to her shirt.

"I guess you could say I'm the janitor here…" she admitted, looking around the area. "I'm new to everything, so it usually takes me a while to fish out the teenagers who are lurking around after hours, making out or other gross things or trying to get into the rides after hours. I sorta thought you were one of them for a moment… sorry about that."

"Oh, it's no trouble," Mai said, waving off the girl's apology. She shot the young girl a warm smile. "So are you the only janitor on the job, or are you working in a team?"

"Usually I have a few partners, but one of them had a family emergency and the other broke his leg," Isuzu confided. Mai felt the girl's pain. It would be horrible to look after this place all by one's self in this darkness. Especially when it was normally a three-man job. That would be the equivalent of her carrying all of the equipment by herself into base in under ten minutes. Impossible or at least very straining.

"Well, I suppose I shouldn't keep you from your job, then" the elder woman said, giving the girl a smile. "Good luck with it."

"You, too, miss ghost hunter," Isuzu called out, leaving the conversation before Mai could actually give the girl her name. The woman shrugged as she continued on her way. Perhaps she could arrange for a proper introduction later.

* * *

"What do you mean _'they're not here'_?" Mai growled at the woman behind the gate. The worker was trembling, but Mai did not particularly care at that moment. She was lit. "I _specifically_ asked that if anything at all were wrong, if they began to complain of any weird aches or if they felt they were being watched, that you were to send for me _immediately_!"

"They didn't complain about any aches or weird feelings," the woman tried to explain. It was her feeble attempt to calm the furious caretaker. "They didn't talk to the workers at all. We set all the kids down for an hour of quiet play or napping—depends on the age—and when we checked in on all them, they were gone!"

"And this place is supposed to be safe?!" Mai yelled, causing the woman to quiver. Quite frankly, the normally docile girl did not care at this point. "What about security? Or cameras? Didn't you check them? And why didn't you even _think_ about notifying me when you realized they were gone? You _had_ my contact information!"

"W-we thought that p-perhaps— Where are you going?!"

By this point, Mai Taniyama had walked halfway out the door. She had heard enough to know that she had left the children with the wrong people, and she was going to find them on her own if she had to. Before she left, she uttered a final warning to the worker. "If they come back here, tell them I told them to _stay put_ and call me _immediately_, got it?"

"Got it…" the woman gulped, though it was too late. Mai had already walked into the brisk night air, intent on searching for the two missing children.

* * *

"…so if you see them on the cameras, would you let me know?" Mai's voice asked over the phone. Her voice was overly sweet, yet the young man with whom she was talking knew that this was merely calm before a terrible storm. Oliver sighed at this woman, but nevertheless acquiesced to her request.

"I will keep an eye out for them," he stated bluntly. His assistant gave a curt farewell before hanging up on him, and the man knew that he should probably stay out of her way. However, this incident was causing him to think upon what had happened at the office. More specifically, the conversation that Mai had had with the little girl—Yui or something. Just because he had not said anything did not mean he did not glean any information from it.

From the conversation, it appeared as though Mai were not accustomed to being called 'mother'. Quite surprising, as he would have assumed she would let any child call her such if the situation called for it. It led him to another conclusion: Mai was not the biological mother of the children, or Yui at least. The boy—whose name had not been disclosed to him yet—had almost the exact same shade of hair and eye color as Mai. Still, Yui was insistent that they were siblings. Perhaps a familial attachment made to one who was not actually blood related? Oliver shook his head. The boy clearly had an attachment to Mai, but was not estranged from the little girl. Also, the girl had a habit of speaking for the boy, who often made no moves to correct her. If she could read him, then the relationship between the two must have been building for a long time, and—as Oliver was beginning to theorize—at least Yui had not been with Mai for very long. So the boy had been with the girl first. The probability of the children actually being blood related shot up.

So, how long had the children been with Mai? From Mai's behavior, it appeared as though this development was new. However, from the children's behavior, it appeared as though they had lived with the woman all of their young lives. It was hard to gauge the entire truth from observation alone and Mai had not responded well when he had asked her about the children. Perhaps he should inquire with the children instead, whenever he saw them next.

"Earth to Noll!" Madoka sang, poking her finger on the forehead of her pupil. Despite not being one for physical touch—for obvious reasons—Oliver had enough sense not to shove the woman away. Doing such things had usually caused a lot of punishment for him and Gene under her training, so he simply never bothered anymore. Besides, she was one of the few whose memories did not push to the forefront of his mind upon physical touch. That was due to years of prolonged exposure. _Forced_ prolonged exposure as far as he was concerned.

"One cannot call a planet to a person, physics doesn't work like that," Oliver returned, casting a cool eye upon his former mentor before returning to the monitors, scanning them for a tuft of the boy's brown hair or perhaps the scowling face of pale little Yui. The woman only offered a scoff in return.

"Yes, but you haven't told us why Mai-chan called," she pointed out. "You've only been staring at the monitors with more interest than usual. Did she give you a romantic confession?"

"The children have gone missing. She's asked me to keep an eye out for them on the monitors," Oliver stated, ignoring the pinkette's final remark. She knew what had happened on that day four years ago—only after much prodding and sleuth like work to gain said information—but had not said anything about it. Until now. Now that he was back in Japan, her schemes would probably know no bounds. He would have to remain on-guard so she did not get any ideas. Four years should be plenty of time for Mai to realize she had gotten the wrong man and get over the embarrassment. They could be friends.

He hoped. He hoped for that much.

"Eh? Yui and Kazi are missing?" Madoka asked, her eyes wide. So that was the boy's name. Mai must have told her sometime when he was not listening, paying attention, or in the room. Most likely the latter, as the two girls shared the front office space for work. "Should Koujo and I look around for them as well? The monitors won't catch all the places that a child can hide in, and they could be in trouble by the time Mai finds them."

Oliver considered this option. It made the most sense. Two children—especially if they had been with Mai for an undetermined amount of time—could find trouble easily. If something were to happen to them, Mai would be devastated, and Oliver did not really want that.

He could spare Lin and Madoka for such a cause.

"Take radios and torches with you in case you split up," he told them, not peeling his eyes from the screens. Isuzu-san was near the restrooms while Mai was over by the Farris Wheel. There was still no sign of the children.

"We'll be back," Madoka announced as she pulled her husband from his chair. The man had—of course—heard everything, so he handed a torch to his wife as well as a radio. Without another word, the duo left the base to Oliver, who remained vigilant.

"Leave it to Mai's children to run headlong into danger…" the man muttered. _They_ could have no earthly idea that the culprit was actually a person, and were therefore running about in what was believed to be a haunted amusement park in the dark.

Still, the children were not _actually_ Mai's. Of this, Oliver had almost convinced himself. If the children were related to each other, that did not necessarily mean they were related to Mai. Still, they called her "mom", and Yui had said something about Mai taking them in when they were "tired and cold". They could be recently adopted orphans. It _would_ be Mai to taken in a few children without parents, even when she could not financially support them.

However, that made no sense. In a relationship such as that one, the parent would be more willing to be labeled on familial terms. It would take a child much longer to become accustomed to such things. He should know.

"Did you figure it out yet?" a small female voice asked, effectively pulling Oliver from his deep thoughts. He whipped around to find the two children, standing there in base, hand in hand. Both had looks of curiosity on their faces and their clothes were a bit ruffled and dirty.

"Where have you been?" the man asked, reaching for his phone. The first thing to do was to get a hold of Mai and let her know that the children in her care were safe and in base with him. While he did that, he kept an eye on duo. The boy—Kazi—instantly pointed to the girl—Yui—who frowned and began to debate with the young man aloud.

"What do you mean it was my fault? You agreed!" she hissed. Oliver noted the pauses between the girl's statements, almost as though she were having a complete conversation, rather than a one-sided one. Interesting. Could it be…? "You didn't like it there, either! You saw her! But…!"

"Enough," Oliver stated, snapping his phone shut, his text message sent. He had not yelled or sounded particularly cross with the children, yet they had both turned to face him at the sound of his voice, eyes wide in an odd sense of anticipation. He pinched the bridge of his nose. What was he supposed to do with two children in his base now? He could not interrogate him. Mai would kill him.

When did he begin to fear Mai's anger?

"Oof!" he cried out, surprised, as the two children began to climb on his legs and onto his lap. Two four-to-five year old children are not very light, so his surprise and discomfort were understandable. Before he could reprimand them or tell them to find chairs of their own, the little girl had begun to speak to him with a commanding air.

"You're really smart," she stated. It was not a question, more of a declaration. Oliver was not about to deny it, but nor was he about to let his brain be picked apart by a five year old girl. He could sense the questions coming on before they had a chance to be voiced aloud.

"You're in trouble," he returned. What he expected in response was for the small child with whom he was having a conversation to frown at him or call him rude again. What he did not expect was for the young boy to turn around with wide eyes and grab onto his arm with trembling hands.

…_tell…please…_

The smallest of voices came through static, and Oliver's arm shifted suddenly in his surprise. Kazi almost lost his balance on Oliver's leg, but the British man caught him easily and situated him sturdily on his knee. The child gave a silent breath of relief upon not falling and easily leaned back into Oliver's chest. From there, he promptly fell asleep. Oliver noted that the boy's breathing seemed somewhat labored.

"Don't tell me you're sick," Oliver muttered, putting his hand against the forehead of the child to check for a temperature. He was _not_ expecting a familiar thrum of energy, fading by the moment. The young man's eyes went wide and he turned to the girl, silently demanding an explanation. However, the girl seemed unwilling to oblige, as she merely stuck her tongue out at him.

Yet when has Oliver Davis ever ignored an intriguing puzzle such as this?

"Who are you?" he asked, eyes narrowed slits. These could not be Mai's children. Definitely not. They had to be the children of a very powerful psychic for Kazi to possess this type of energy, and so much of it, too! Last Oliver had heard of the woman, Mai was not very powerful. Not in the way of PK energy. Who were these children, and where had they come from?

"I'm Yui, and that's Kazi," the girl stated, as though stating the obvious. She shot a smug look towards the older man. One which he could not say he fully appreciated. He frowned in return, attempting to figure out how to get this child to tell him what he wanted to know. Again, his thoughts were interrupted by the young girl's brash voice. "Tell me your name!"

"Shibuya Kazuya," he responded easily, answering the question in the way he was meant to in Japan. He easily volleyed another. "What is your full name?"

"Depends on who you ask, just like you," she returned. Oliver rose his eyebrow. What kind of an answer was that? And more importantly, what did she mean 'just like you'?

"Explain," he told her. The girl stubbornly shook her head, her raven hair tossing as she did so.

"Can't," she denied an answer.

"Why not?" he asked.

"Cause I can't," she said, frowning at him. He frowned right back. This child had a strong will and was exceptionally stubborn. She took what he said and flung it back in his face and was participating very well in a battle of wills. His eyes narrowed at the thought. This child was impossible.

"Yui! Kazi!" a voice belonging to a familiar brunette sounded before she came in through the base entrance. Both Oliver and Yui turned to see the woman in the entryway, taking gulps of air and attempting to get her heart rate under control. She panted for air for a few moments, getting her bearings.

"You…are in…_so_…much…trouble…" she wheezed. Needless to say, her words had little to no effect on little Yui. Even less on Kazi, as he was still promptly asleep, though his breathing had evened out over the conversation between the man and little girl. Oliver knew why.

"But we didn't like it in there!" Yui exclaimed, turning her attention to Mai. "You shouldn't leave us with strange people!"

"Thank you for keeping them here," Mai stated as she moved to gather the children off of her boss. Even though she was exhausted and still somewhat short on breath, she could not help but think that Oliver would probably do very well as a dad. After all, he had allowed the children to climb up on him and had not removed them yet. Kazi seemed to have felt secure enough to fall asleep on him. Mai did her best to suppress a smile as she gathered him off of her boss. The boy shifted easily, nestling his head into the crook of her neck. Mai allowed him as she moved to the couch, preparing a place for him to sleep. She put his head on the pillow and looked around for a blanket. She was surprised when Oliver pointed to the cabinet on the far side of the room.

"Blankets and emergency supplies," he stated. Mai nodded before following his pointed finger, wondering if she should actually remove Yui from his lap or let her be there. She looked almost happy to be there and Oliver had not already removed her, given that his hands were now available to do so.

_Maybe I'll leave her there until she falls asleep…_ Mai thought as she grabbed a blanket and made way to set it carefully on Kazi's sleeping form. _Lord knows she's as stubborn as he is._

**_AmyNChan: lol, this came out better than I thought it would. XDDD_**

**_Naru: *glares at me*_**

**_Mai: *glares at me*_**

**_Yui: *glares at me*_**

**_Kazi: *too cute to glare properly*_**

**_AmyNChan: ehe… While I run from angry characters, please read and review~! *^_^* *runs for mah life*_**


	10. Tests

**_AmyNChan: Okay, so this took a while to get out, and for that I apologize. ^^;_**

**_Naru: It is time to get on with the story, is it not?_**

**_AmyNChan: Yup! I don't own Naru, Mai, Lin, Madoka, or any cannon Ghost Hunt character~! *^_^*_**

**_Naru: Or SPR._**

**_AmyNChan: or SPR… *sad*_**

"Thank you for meeting with us," Oliver stated, looking evenly at their three guests. "I promise this will not take very long."

"Not at all, my family and I will be happy to get this matter sorted as swiftly as possible," Sawamura-san stated, sitting upright in his chair. The stress he was undergoing was very evident in his expression and posture. Beside him was a lovely woman, despite her aging features. Her hair was a graying brown and her warm eyes were chocolate. There was a certain type of glow about the woman that told Mai she had recently found a deep happiness despite her current worries. The young woman knew the look well. It held no secrets, only two slightly conflicting emotions. The ring on her left hand looked sparkling new. She must have taken _very_ good care of it.

The third person sitting in the room was Isuzu herself. She had come to Sawamura-san's office the same time Oliver had and had promptly been invited to come along for this test. The adolescent had been wary of accepting such an abrupt invitation, but had begrudgingly agreed when encouraged by her mother and assured that the 'miss ghost hunter' would be in attendance.

This was why Mai was also in the room instead of in base where Yui and Kazi were now asleep. It had taken the young girl another two hours before she had actually fallen asleep. Two hours where she had sat on Oliver's lap, Mai choosing not to release him from the girl's grip. Now—at ten o'clock—Madoka and Lin were keeping an eye on them.

Mai shut out any brightness from the room and set the light on the table in front of the trio, then backed off to let Oliver do his own thing. He raised an eyebrow but did not comment on her actions. Mai felt confused. Was she supposed to have done something else? She could not think of anything else that needed to be prepared for this test. Oliver turned on the light.

"Please focus on the light," Oliver instructed using calm, soothing voice. Mai felt herself being lulled by the evenness and security in his tone and forced herself to avoid looking at the light. Instead, she focused on the faces of the three guests in the room. "Please breathe with the light."

Mai watched as the breathing patterns of each person slowly but surely came into synch. It took much more time than she remembered to be normal, as the young girl seemed to be struggling. Quite possibly resisting. Eventually, however, all three were breathing smoothly and deeply with the light's calming pulse. "Slowly.

"Relax," Oliver's voice was simple. Perhaps that was why he was so effective at this. "You feel sleepy."

This first suggestion was taken well. Eyelids drooped and the breathing became deeper.

"You can hear yourself breathing," he continued, his voice never wavering. Never showing any hesitation or doubt that he knew what they were thinking. Or rather, the suggestions he was placing within them for now. "Please count the breaths in your mind…"

Oliver trailed off with his request, and Mai had a feeling that he was allowing time for their sluggish minds to comply with his request. As she observed them, she noticed that their eyes seemed a bit hazier. More clouded. Mai resisted the childlike urge to wave her hand in front of their faces. That would have proven a point she already knew to be true. They were already deeply situated in a hypnotic trance.

"Tonight, something is going to happen," Oliver told them. Mai could tell they were only partially hearing his words, only faintly able to grasp the concept that he was actually speaking to them. "The book that is in my hand now. It will be placed in this room tonight. This book will move tonight."

The words were only given a moment to sink in before Mai knew she had to turn on the bright fluorescent light. The three guests in the room blinked and rubbed their eyes, not having expected the sudden switch back into reality.

"Oh, dear," the woman yawned delicately. "What was…?"

Three pairs of eyes were drawn to a book in Oliver's hand. The suggestion had taken.

"Sawamura-san, might I have the key to this room?" he asked, holding out his hand expectantly for the key. The elder man complied easily as he slipped the correct key off of his personal ring. Oliver casually set the book upon the table as he pocketed the key. "Thank you. Please go about your normal evening routine."

"A-all right," the woman complied, now more awake. She turned to her daughter. "Let's go, Isuzu."

The girl complied only to her mother's voice, seemingly keen to exit the room as swiftly as possible. She only halted herself to speak to Mai.

"Thanks for being here, miss ghost hunter," she whispered as she attempted to quickly breeze past Mai to get to the door. The woman with calm brown eyes and a gentle disposition held her up for only a moment, giving the girl a warm smile.

"You can call me Mai, okay?" she introduced herself amiably. Isuzu seemed to be surprised at the kindness and returned it with a sudden hug. Surprised, the woman only halted a moment before giving the girl a hug in response, somehow knowing that the girl was reaching out for some sort of affirmation or kindness. Mai was only too happy to give it to her.

It was only a few more minutes before the family left the paranormal experts behind. Knowing that she should probably get some real work done before her boss had a coronary, Mai grabbed the piece of chalk from her back pocket and drew a circle around the book Oliver had placed on the table. The man himself set to work setting up a thermal camera right beside a night-vision camera and hooking them both up to recording equipment.

"I shouldn't be surprised anymore," Oliver stated randomly, causing Mai to look up in confusion. Since when did the great Na-Oliver _ever_ say something randomly? Where was the catch? She narrowed her eyes defensively, attempting to sneak past that ever-standing guard of his just enough to catch his drift. No such thing happened. She was completely left in the dark and it seemed as though he would not be giving her any hints.

"Surprised at what? Your ego?" she jabbed. She felt far too off-kilter around him right now, too wary. Not like she was uncomfortable—for some reason she always felt safe near Oliver—but that she felt very unprepared. She did not know how much he had changed—if at all—over the past four years. His aversion to touch seemed to go down enough to be climbed on by two children and he seemed easier to debate with now, but other than that Mai was lost. It was easier to try and bait him into one of their old conversations than to open herself up to him again. Open herself to the possibility of getting hurt.

"Your ability to inspire trust from others. According to her file, Isuzu-san hasn't responded to or attached herself to anyone new within the past year," he stated easily, ignoring the jab. He knew what her game was and he was debating on whether or not he should play it. He felt that insulting her intelligence would be counterintuitive at this point, but he _did_ want to respond with a jab of his own. The difficulties of human interactions…

"Really? She seems so sweet," Mai mused aloud, easily distracted from her own point. She looked out of the door that the family of three had just left from, thinking on her encounters with the girl. What she had said and how she had reacted to her.

_"Hello? Is this SPR?"_

_"Isuzu."_

_"I'm new to everything, so it usually takes me a while to fish out the teenagers who are lurking around after hours, making out or other gross things or trying to get into the rides after hours. I sorta thought you were one of them for a moment… sorry about that."_

_"You, too, miss ghost hunter."_

_"Mom just left me there to go talk to Sawamura-shi because the park had just shut down for the night."_

Hold on. That last one… That was when Isuzu-san had been telling her and Oliver about her paranormal experience when they had first met. About not wanting to go into the fun house. The –shi suffix was often used for persons who the individual did not know, but held great respect for. But it had sounded sarcastic, almost habitual to say his name like that.

"Why would she call her own father that?" she questioned aloud, her need to do her thinking vocally having not been an aspect of her personality that changed over time. "And when I talked to her after leaving base, she didn't tell me her family name either. Maybe she's not used to it…?"

"What led you to that conclusion?" Oliver asked, prodding her forward. He rather liked the logic that Mai seemed to have picked up over the years. It made arguing with her more challenging and therefore commanded more of his attention when she spoke. It was something he somehow liked, even if it _did_ make him feel as though he were losing a part of the Mai he had known those years ago.

"A feeling," she answered, surprising Oliver. Maybe she had not gotten _completely_ logical over time. He did not resist the urge to smirk in familiarity.

Mai frowned when she saw his smirk, feeling as though he were looking down on her and belittling her. It was true. There was something in her heart that told her Isuzu-san was not used to something about her situation. She could get no further specifics than that. Sor-_ry_ that she could not do better!

"I see," he stated, clicking the camera on. Everything was in its place when the duo left the room, locking it securely behind them. The two walked in somewhat companionable silence as they walked across the now empty amusement park, side by side. Mai felt her anger slowly ebb away as she realized that she had not had a civil conversation—simple chit chat—since had returned. She found herself wanting to ask him something as they walked, but her tongue felt swollen and her lips sealed themselves. Her reaction was nothing of the paranormal sort, just her wondering what exactly she should do or say now that she and Oliver were alone.

Should she ask him how England was?

No, not with the cold shoulder she had been giving him lately.

But why had she been giving him the cold shoulder?

Because he had offended her by assuming things about her personal life again.

But how was he ever going to know if she did not grow up and tell him that he was wrong?

Would that not be great?

To tell him that he was wrong?

Mai smiled to herself as she thought about it. Being able to look Oliver Davis square in the eye and tell him he was wrong and be completely sure of it would be amazing. She wondered why she did not do so earlier. Oh yeah, she had been mad at him for being wrong in the first place. Oh, well, now she could—

"Mai, who are those children?" he inquired, catching her off-guard. She turned to look at him with a frown, not believing her poor luck.

"Come again?" she asked.

"Who are those children?"

"I thought you already had a _preconceived notion_ as to who they were," she stated, emphasizing the idea of his assumptious tendencies sarcastically. More than anything, she was annoyed that he had taken the good moment for himself again. Oliver shot her a look she could not decipher, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. Instead, he looked coolly upon her.

"New facts have come to light that oppose that idea," he returned smoothly, causing Mai's irritation to flare.

"You could just admit that you were wrong and then I'd tell you. Don't good scientists admit when they're not right?" Mai challenged in irritation as they passed by the famed 'spinny ride'. When Oliver did not answer her, she continued. "Ya'know, out with old ideas and in with new concepts or something or another? Frigging Narcissist and your stupid pride..."

Oliver did not respond to Mai's statement. He knew in his head that the words she had said made some kind of sense in a theoretical standpoint. Intelligent scientists always took into account that previous theories might be proven to be wrong. However, he was _never_ wrong. Cue pride.

"You know if you did psychometry on those kids to figure out where they came from I will kill you, right?" Mai turned on him with a dangerous glint in her eye. Oliver refused to be intimidated by her verbal threat.

"I would overpower you before you had the chance," he deflected, physically able to complete such a task. The woman visibly bristled at his avoidance of the implied question.

"Did. You. Use. Psychometry?" she seethed, stepping in front of her boss to prevent any sort of forward progression. He attempted to sidestep her only to be halted again. Her hands were balled into fists in her side and she looked rather murderous for a woman whose head barely reached his shoulders. Still, he knew that she was not angry at him for being his stubborn self, but rather mad at him for the sake of the children she was guarding. She was worried for their privacy and took their wellbeing to heart.

She would make a good mother to a very lucky child one day.

"It's not a matter of whether I _have_, it's a matter of whether it's _possible_," Oliver attempted to assure her. Instead of consolation or relief on her face, her expression morphed into one of defense and confusion.

"So you tried it on them?" she accused. Oliver pinched his nose.

"I never said that."

"You never denied it."

"When they climbed on my lap, I was expecting their memories to push onto my subconscious, as many do," Oliver explained, his voice surprisingly calm despite the growing frustration he felt. To his great relief, Mai seemed to realize the best thing to do was to stay quiet for a moment and listen to what he had to say. "Usually, even though children do not have many memories yet in their lifetimes, they are such highly emotional human beings that their emotions and thoughts trigger something in my abilities. This did not happen with Yui and Kazi while they were sitting on me in base. I wondered if something were wrong with either my abilities or with them. I waited to see if anything would change while you left Yui on my lap. A flash, an image, anything. In the end, I saw nothing."

"So you sat there and waited for her memories to show themselves to you, but it didn't work," Mai surmised. Oliver, not feeling the need to say any more, nodded. It was a few moments of silence that next captured the duo. They did not speak, each lost in their own thoughts on the subject. Oliver wondered how his abilities could not work on the two children and what implications such a lack of events may have. Mai wondered if perhaps the children were a bit more powerful than she and Gene had originally assumed.

"Mai, there is something different about those children. Given your interactions, it's unlikely that you simply adopted them because you wanted to settle down and start a family quite yet," Oliver stated bluntly. Mai sighed with an air of frustration. Trust this man to have absolutely no tact whatsoever.

"You still have no freaking manners or tact," she stated bluntly, glaring at her boss. By now, she was no longer blocking his path towards base, but he was no longer pursuing that. Instead, he was pursuing an answer. As such, neither of them moved for the next few moments, their only companion being the brisk night air.

"Mai, tell me. Who are those children?" he asked, his blue eyes burning with curiosity. While it was true that he was being pushed by his scientific mind and personal questions over the interactions of their abilities and his own, another factor pushed him so far as to pry this much. Somehow, in some way, these children had become a very integral part of Mai's life. Their well-being drove her decisions and it seemed as though she were already searching as to how to return the children home. For whatever reason, Oliver found it in himself to want to be of use in this endeavor. To help her as much as he possibly could.

Mai searched his blue orbs for a moment and then turned away. She could not name the emotion or drive that caused his eyes to burn with such intensity, but a part of her had shuddered happily when she had seen it. She turned from him to cover her weakness.

"You really wanna know?" she asked. Oliver did not speak, nor did he nod. He knew the answer would come regardless of what he chose to do. After all, as she had proven only a few moments ago, this was still Mai. However, the answer he received was not one that he had been expecting.

"Join the club."

**_AmyNChan: lololol, take that, Naru! XD_**

**_Mai: *raises hands* I don't know who they are either. The only thing I knew that he didn't was that they weren't mine!_**

**_Naru: Is it possible Gene knows who they are?_**

**_Mai and Naru: *look at Gene*_**

**_Gene: *floating around innocently, then looks to you all with a smile* Read and review so my brother and his would-be wife can just get over themselves and make out already._**

**_AmyNChan, Mai, Naru: GENE!_**

**_Gene: hahahaha!_**


	11. Talking Gets Us Somewhere?

**_AmyNChan: Okay, I know I'm really, really, REALLY late, but—_**

**_Mai: but nothing! You left us hanging!_**

**_AmyNChan: I'm trying! I don't' have a life to waste anymore.. QAQ_**

**_Naru: As in you are attempting to do something productive with your life?_**

**_AmyNChan: *nods furiously*_**

**_Naru: Good luck with that._**

**_AmyNChan: BULLIES! QAQ_**

**_Naru: *sighs and pinches his nose* Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt._**

**_AmyNChan: QAQ_**

Oliver had finally been able to sit Mai down and obtain all of the information he could out of her about the children. As the two little ones were already asleep, the team had decided it would be better to remain on site to keep a steady eye on the experiment rather than pack up and move everyone to their respective houses only to be gathered up again in the morning. The choice to remain on-site also came with the tag-along choice to take shifts during the night so that they would not have to observe the video feed in the morning. Lin and Madoka had retired to sleep and ended their shift two hours ago and it appeared as though the children would not wake for a while yet.

It was now two in the morning and Oliver and Mai had ceased talking about their current mysteries.

"So, you're telling me that not only do they have paranormally involved parents, but they have unique abilities, too? Well, _that's_ good to know," Mai surmised from what she had wheedled out of Oliver. It had been more of an informational _exchange_ between the two than an interrogation on one or the other. In this manner, they tried to piece together the mystery of the twins. Who they were, what could be following them, and who their parents were. Perhaps these people would be able to protect the children far better than they. Perhaps…

"It would appear so. Only Kazi's abilities have been proven to me. I felt an energy similar to my own on his skin right before he fell asleep. If I am correct in assuming he has psychokinetic abilities, he will most likely sleep in later than normal tomorrow," the raven haired man predicted.

"So he's not going to need to go to the hospital, right?" Mai asked, her brows furrowed in thought and obvious worry. Oliver did not need any verbal cues to know where she was drawing her reference from. There was only one time where she had realized him using his powers had placed him in the hospital, though the actual amount of times that had occurred was two. He shook his head in response to her question.

"I believe Yui is doing for him what Gene used to do for me," he informed, observing Mai carefully. He knew that she had been close to Eugene the last time he was here, and saying his name around her might bring up painful memories for her. He had already made his closure with the death of his twin when he realized that every year on the anniversary of when Gene had been dredged from the lake something odd would occur. One year, a sock had been thrown on his head. It had taken one year after that—upon hearing one fairly annoying pen clicking incessantly—that he had finally begun to feel normal again. He still missed his brother and despised the fact that he could not have gotten to his body soon enough so that way his death would have _meant_ something, but somehow knowing that he would be there every once in a while helped when he felt he had failed the both of them.

The stupid medium still needed to cross over, though. Perhaps if he showed Eugene that he was capable of taking care of himself, he would move on. This thought propelled him to let go of his grief and strive to work towards the future.

A future he hoped to build here in Japan.

"So she's being the relay, right?" Mai asked, attempting to bury the warm feeling in her chest. She could not pinpoint exactly what it was, but the fact that Oliver had said Gene's name without being cold, callous, or distant somehow made her happy. It could be that she was glad he did not feel any bitterness towards his brother, glad that perhaps somehow he might have gained some closure for the death of his twin.

"If you wish to use such an analogy, you would not be wrong," Oliver stated, having seen the flicker of a smile that Mai had attempted to suppress. No matter how much time had passed, some things about the girl simply did not change. The girl of his thoughts nodded to herself.

"That's good," she sighed in relief. "Going to the hospital for one of you is bad enough, I wouldn't want to wait in the room for Kazi…"

Mai trailed off, her eyes wide. Oliver could tell by the flickering direction of her eyes and the way she had left her statement wide open that a new thought had struck her. Perhaps she was thinking about—

"They're going to be at my house for Christmas and I haven't gotten them anything!" Mai exclaimed, confusing Oliver. How in the world had she gotten from Kazi being in the hospital to purchasing Christmas gifts? Before he could voice his confusion, the girl continued to ramble, anxiety rising subtly as she continued. "And Madoka and Lin-san and you! I haven't gotten anything ready! I wasn't expecting anyone to be here so I was going to buy gifts the day after Christmas so I could afford it… I _always_ make sure I get Christmas gifts for my friends! Always! Oh, but Christmas is tomorrow… Where am I going to buy Christmas gifts for everyone the day before Christmas?"

"If it is any consolation, Madoka and Lin won't care what you buy them as long as you wish them a Merry Christmas. You don't need to get me anything, I won't want it. The children would probably enjoy a toy or something those lines. I'll give you enough to buy them something from the gift shop if it bothers you that much," Oliver said, the words coming to his lips faster than he could think his plan out. Once he realized what he had done, he wished he could take it back. Not because the words or action therein was bad, but because it was so _unlike_ him. He did not give advice—personal advice, at least—and he did not just _give_ money for such a frivolous occasion. He advanced causes of education and science, not something this trivial. _Christmas presents_? Was he out of his mind?

Mai was having similar thoughts. The advice had come out of the blue; as had the offer to help her financially with the gifts. She observed the man carefully. He did not raise an eyebrow at her slight antics and increase stare as he normally would, which meant he had suddenly been thrown into deep thought. Anyone could tell by the slight narrowing of his eyes and the way that his lips were tightly sealed. Mai wondered if he had even _meant_ to offer and a second scan of his body language had told her that he had not. However, knowing him, if he had said it then he would follow through with it. She wondered if he had ever gotten into trouble because of that particular trait of his.

"Since it's your money, do you want to help me pick them out?" Mai asked, testing the waters. Would he agree? Would he decline? Would he even consider it? Would he—

_Rustle_.

The duo turned to the slight noise that had emanated from the speaker. It sounded as though there were a wind that suddenly breezed through a library, fluttering pages softly. Mai and Oliver averted their eyes to camera five, the former scooting in closer to be sure she would not miss a thing.

_Thump_.

The book's cover lifted suddenly and then allowed gravity to regain control, setting the hard cover on the table. Pages flipped and rustled as a soft wind caused them to turn. Mai watched with wide eyes, vividly aware of the goose bumps on her skin. Oliver watched the phenomenon with a strict observational eye, the events unfolding before his eyes telling him the magnitude of what they were dealing with.

The book settled itself onto the dedication page and moved no more. The two paranormal investigators continued to observe the book for another five minutes. Once his mental timer had gone off Oliver drew back from the screen, only then noting how close his face had been to Mai's. He did not like the way that fact made him slightly nervous, especially when he only noticed it _after_ the fact. He quickly shook his head of the thought and began to process the event that had just taken place.

"What was that?" Mai asked aloud. She was very much aware that this proved the existence of a PK user in the Sawamura family—and she had a very strong suspicion that it was Isuzu, given that the girl was in an emotionally awkward position and seemed to feel very much alone, which would in turn prompt the awakening of hidden abilities such as these—yet the last time Mai had observed this test the reaction had been explosive. This, however, had only been the tiniest of book flips, spurred on by a gentle wind that somehow existed in a completely sealed off room. But maybe… "Did we leave a window open?"

"In a way," Oliver said cryptically, detailing his observations in his black notebook. Amount of activity, what equipment the phenomena was recorded with, and time of occurrence. Hypotheses and theories were quickly jotted down on the right side of his English written notes. This time, there were only three plausible theories, and each led to the same fact: Isuzu was their culprit.

"Then wouldn't that mess with the results? Doesn't that mean we can't use it to prove there's anything going on?" Mai asked, confused as to how he was sitting there taking notes on an experiment that had not been properly controlled. If they left the window open, then that meant— "Wait a minute… There's no window in that room."

Oliver already knew this, so he chose not to dignify her late observation with a response. Instead, he finished jotting his thoughts down and began to analyze them with a critical mind. One theory was out, as it appeared the girl had a normal school life. She had a decent amount of friends and did not seem to be needing attention from her peers. The school was not the source of her stress. Only further questioning would determine which of the remaining two theories was correct.

"Oliver," Mai deadpanned, a frown on her lips. As well as an odd feeling. Saying his name like that was strange to her. Sure, she had been thinking of him in that regard since he returned so she would not slip and call him by a familiar name, but actually saying it was weird. Even though she had worked on her accent over the years, the 'v' in his name gave her a little bit of trouble. Perhaps that was why he suddenly turned to her with that strange look. Ah well, at least she had his attention now. She pushed down a feeling that came with that stare and continued. "How can we open a window when there isn't a window in that room?"

"Mai, you know not to call me that while we are in public where anyone can hear you, correct?" he asked, his eyes completely serious. Not that they were not always serious, mind you, but that she _felt_ his mood sober to a level she did not know it could reach.

"Why?" Mai asked, confused. Did he not know that she already—

"Eugene's murderess is still out there. If she finds me and panics, she will either hurt me or anyone who is remotely involved with me, regardless of how professional a relationship it may seem," he said, somewhat exasperated at the fact that she could not put that much together already. She had shown intellectual prowess very well during the case. Perhaps it was only during cases where she allowed herself to think in such a way. Situational circumstances.

In any event, by returning to Japan he had essentially agreed to become Shibuya Kazuya on its soil until there came such a time where his name and face would not bring danger to those whose health and safety mattered very much to him. He would not allow such a scenario to happen. Not to Lin. Not to Madoka. Definitely not to Mai.

He would never be able to forgive himself.

"Are you sure?" Mai queried. It was not a question Oliver had been anticipating. She had never questioned his certainty on any subject, only whether his course of action regarding said subjects was correct. _She_ never questioned how firmly he believed in his words.

Even though the answer was obvious. He put one hundred percent stock in what he said.

"Is there evidence you could provide to refute it? She could be one of any number of strange faces, walking around as though she has done nothing wrong. Until I know for sure that she is not, I will remain as Kazuya Shibuya to clients and Naru to friends and colleagues," he explained, drilling her with the most intense look he could give her. This was a serious matter of safety. The woman had killed once because of blind panic. Considering her to be above doing it again would be ludicrous.

"Actually, I _do_ have evidence, _Oliver_," Mai refuted, putting emphasis on the fact that she did possess knowledge and his name. It was the second time in as many minutes as he had given her that look. One she could not decipher. It was intense and curious. It caused her heart to flutter and her back to have funny little chills on it. But if there was anything this look was not, it was not cold. Not cold, but warm was not the word to describe it. Perhaps—

"Show me," he instructed. His heartbeat quickened and his mind came into frighteningly sharp focus. He observed every tiny detail that was happening in the room, but the sound had been muted. He watched as Mai's confidence began to waver and she drew away from him. He, not quite knowing what she had in store in the event of evidence, merely studied her movements and awaited her answer to his demand. He witnessed her take a deep, steadying breath and close her eyes.

"You might get a bit tired after this," she warned him, her nervousness weaving into her voice. Even if everything else was muted, she was the sharpest image in his mind. He had not focused so much since—

"Oh, good, you're already doing it. Always a step ahead, aren't you?" she chuckled. It was nervous, yet Oliver did not have time to contemplate on her unsure body language. There was something far greater going on.

The slightest of tuggings on his mind, asking politely that he connect a telepathic link.

* * *

Eugene watched as his student offered to make a link. Through his own, he could feel shock and suspicion coming from Noll's side. He could also feel Mai's hesitance about doing this so quickly. Originally, she had planned on not making the link until she was absolutely sure she could live with him being around again. She had claimed it would take one case to know. Gene had possessed a sneaking suspicion that if the brunette had done things her way, she would have waited for a few more years yet. However, something had told him that she would end up activating the link sooner rather than later.

A hunch, as one would call it.

Gene sat back, supporting himself by sticking his hands behind him. He looked up into the black expanse, marveling once more at the many souls who continued their trek into the sky. How many were out there? How many could he help into the light of the beyond? How many more would come into his Astral Plane? Stumbling, just as Mai had, into his existence?

He could not say 'stumbling into his life' as he did not have one anymore. Gene chuckled at his ridiculous joke.

"Uf!" a small voice cried out, alerting the man to the presence of someone else in his plane. Someone who was not one of these flying orbs, drifting along with no particular purpose or set destination. One who had a voice and sounded very solid against this odd Astral Plane floor. Eugene stretched his head backwards as far as humanly possible—he still accepted the laws of physics here on occasion. He was no contortionist—in order to see who had visited him.

It could not be Mai, as she was mind-deep in a shared vision with Noll by now. Lin and Madoka did not have the ability to visit him in the Plane. He was an omoyoji and she did not have any aptitude in the way of supernatural abilities. She was merely one scary teacher who knew what the heck she was doing. He had been able to visit Masako Hara once before to offer her comfort and company, but she was not an Astral Walker, so there was a very low chance of her ever returning the favor.

However, there was something slightly familiar about that sound of pain. Something that seemed unfamiliar, yet reminded him of an occurrence that had only happened a mere three days beforehand. As Gene could not see anything from barely moving, he turned his torso and righted his head to have a proper look at the person behind him. He was very surprised to find a five year old girl with jet black hair and an inky dress lying on her stomach in the middle of the Astral Realm. She groaned in pain before flipping over to lay on her back, opening her blue eyes against the Astral Plane. Her eyes met his own fairly quickly.

"…uh oh…" was all she had to say.

**_AmyNChan: Okay, so I tried to make it more action packed and have a lot of things happening at once! Life kind of does that, so I figured I might as well do that here, too. XD_**

**_Naru: you know your readers probably won't—_**

**_AmyNChan: LALALALALA, NOT LISTENING!_**

**_Naru: *raises an eyebrow*_**

**_Mai: *sighs* Amy-chan thanks you all for your patience with her and asks that you please continue to be patient with her. She can't crank out chapters as quickly as she used to, but promises that she won't give up this story and will work on it as often as she can so she can present you with readable material._**

**_AmyNChan: LALALALAPLEASEREVIEWLALALALALALA!_**

**_Mai and Naru: *sighs in exasperation*_**


	12. Pieces Falling into Place

**_AmyNChan: Okay, this is late and whatnot, but I wanted it to be perfect!_**

**_Yui: You can't make anything perfect, that's impossible_**

**_AmyNChan: That's so mean…_**

**_Yui: It's the truth._**

**_AmyNChan: At least you're not your dad. Him and the universe to which her pertains I do not own. You, however…_**

**_Yui: You can't scare me!_**

**_AmyNChan: *glares*_**

What awoke him that night? All of the tension in the air? The amount of drama unfolding in the peripheral vision of his head and of his heart? The knowledge that he was in an amusement park where there was activity of the paranormal sort happening? Perhaps the drainage of his energy somehow caused him to awaken at this odd hour of three in the morning?

No, he simply had to go to the bathroom.

Of course, Kazi felt extremely sluggish as he lifted his small body up from the couch. It took much more coordination than he had in him to shimmy past his sister without disturbing her at all. Thankfully, in his sight at least, his sister had never ever ever been a light sleeper. Ever. He was grateful for that as he clumsily and uncharacteristically fell over her sleeping body on his way to the necessary facilities.

The young boy made his way with stumbling feet and sleepy eyes. He yawned widely yet silently, the only noise emanating from his person being the soft pitter patter of his bare feet against the cool carpeted floor. The little boys' room was not too far from his sleeping quarters as base had been set up in the employee's lounge. That was one more thing he was grateful for as he did his business and dutifully washed his hands.

_I wonder who's watching the base…_ Kazi wondered silently through his sleepy mind, having not heard anyone. No typing, no chatting, no routine arguments, no nothing. _But… someone has to be there… I can hear the monitors…_

Curiously, Kazi made his way to the room he remembered the huge computer screens to be in. He knew he was getting closer because the humming grew louder. Inquisitively, he turned the corner and was quite surprised to see the two people who he thought would not work together at this point in time sitting together. Both had their eyes shut and were obviously in the middle of deep discussion with their hands linked together. An early form of telepathy, used particularly with beginners.

_I wonder what they're talking about…?_ he wondered, the sleepiness quickly vanishing from his mind. Instead, his attentions were increasingly focused on his rising curiosity and budding hope. _Maybe they could hear me now… but what if I'm not supposed to? But…_

The small boy took a seat beside the two adults, watching them intently as he warred with himself. He wanted them to hear him, but what if he interrupted them? What if he ended up hearing something that he was not supposed to hear? What if they heard something _they_ were not supposed to hear?

The child frowned silently as he sat there, debating what to do.

* * *

The first thing Oliver became aware of was the darkness which he suddenly found himself in. Disoriented and confused, the young man glanced all around himself, searching for a land marker or some other sort of indicator as to his present location. Of course he was aware that he was sharing a telepathic link with Mai, but she was nowhere to be—

"Uf!" a familiar voice cried out from behind Oliver. He rolled his eyes as he turned to her. No matter how much time would pass, no matter how many new abilities she would gain, there would always be instances of a clumsy Mai Taniyama. He easily made his way toward her as she attempted to push herself off of the invisible surface she had just collided with. "I hate that part…"

Oliver bit back a retort that was ready and waiting. Instead of commenting on her lack of grace or coordination, he simply approached her and extended a hand. Mai looked at it as though it were the most alien thing on the face of her mind—Oliver felt certain it was not—and he opted into offering a brief explanation.

"You can't show me your evidence from the floor."

Mai's face flushed angrily as she accepted his hand and allowed his helping her off of the ground. Once righted on her feet, Mai began to lead the way due east of their starting position. The darkness that surrounded them was then instantly filled with pictures and sounds. These were her memories. A million memories of a million faces in a million places. Out of respect, Oliver kept his eyes trained only on the Mai before him. The one that was leading him through her mind. He would see what she needed him to see and refrain from observing the passerby memories.

_Well, at least I know she's new to this…_ Oliver thought as he kept his eyes trained on the back of Mai's bobbing head. _If she were more experienced, she would be able to hide what she does not want me to see more securely._

"Who said I was hiding these memories?" Mai quipped. Oliver was not surprised that she had heard his thoughts now that they were sharing a telepathic link. Part of him had hoped that she would hear him recognize that she was new and what she could be able to do with more practice. He did not, however, expect her openness. "I don't really have anything to hide here. These memories that we're walking through now are of how Yui and Kazi came to me, but since you're not interested, we'll just go farther back to what I wanted you to see in the first place. We're short on time, anyway."

Before Oliver could take a proper look around—that was what he got for being respectful—the scenery around them changed once more. Rather than surrounded by different memories in a seemingly endless hallway, they were on a single road that was illuminated only by the occasional lamp. It was dark and far out of the way of normal Tokyo city limits.

What 'evidence' could be this far out of town?

Why this particular memory?

Soft steps indicated that a person was on the road alongside the two. Oliver turned to see Mai walking up the street, only a bit younger than the Mai who was beside him, hosting the memory.

"I like to call that point in time 'agent Taniyama'," Mai commented off-handedly, a joking lilt hiding the strain in her voice. Oliver's eyes narrowed. Either Mai was playing one large joke on him—the repercussions of which would be severe—or she had done something at this point in time to warrant the ridiculous nickname.

"Mai…" he warned, digging for information. Yet that was when he felt it. An imminent sense of danger. Echoes of the young woman's intense instincts telling her to run. To flee as far and as fast as her feet would take her. Mai, the younger Mai, was not alone on this obscure path. And this other person was obviously someone that was dangerous.

Oliver felt rather than heard the approaching woman.

She was not very tall, or at least she would not be if she did not wear those ludicrous heels. The woman appeared to be somewhere in her early forties with far too much makeup on her face. Her dirty-blonde hair was pulled back into an intricate braid that pulled on the sides of her face a bit too much yet somehow managed to have a few fly aways here and there. The business suit she wore was crumpled and old. She wore an entire aura of distaste and anger, masked thinly under a veil of civility.

"Good evening," the younger Mai stated with what Oliver would certainly call a faux calmness. He could tell from the simple signs that she was not as composed as she appeared to be. She was mimicking calmness in the only way she knew how to be so without allowing herself the comfort of empathy. She was cold. In truth, he knew she was _scared_. And upon seeing the woman's shoes, he knew exactly why. "I trust the directions were not too difficult, Yuu-san?"

"Not at all, Juuri-san," the woman responded with a cordial reply. She spat the faux name out with equally faux politeness. "I must say, those notes you sent me were not a pleasant surprise. You are aware of the only thing preventing me from turning over such evidence to the police or to my husband, aren't you?"

"Of course," Mai responded. She was trembling slightly, but her eyes held a glint that Oliver had not seen in a long time. It was a glint that usually got her into trouble.

"_Mai, you don't have to do this…"_

The sound of his brother's voice threw Oliver for another loop. Not only was Mai confronting a dangerous woman who was calloused enough to commit murder and still live in modern society, but she was still in contact with his deceased brother at this point in her life.

"_You know he won't thank you…"_

"_I know."_

"_Mai, we've done all we can! You've already done enough! Stop!"_

"_No, I haven't and no, I won't. I'm sorry, Gene."_

"_MAI!"_

"Then you should be aware that I absolutely cannot have anyone who knows the truth of the matter to live. My poor reputation would only worsen. After all, if no one else will rise to the task of ridding the world of freaks, then who am I to die? I should cleanse the world of filth such as that lying cheat," the woman smiled. It was as though her logic made perfect sense somewhere in her warped mind.

The memory continued to play as Oliver's anger mounted. This should not have happened. Mai should have never found his brother's murderess. How stupid was she? She could have been ki—

The woman withdrew a small pistol from her crumpled business suit. The psychotic smile never left her face as she waved the dangerous weapon about as if it were a mere plaything.

"Speaking of cheats, you never did tell me how you came to know of my sin, Juuri-san," the woman mused aloud. Her eyes were wide with a curiosity that was all too real. "Oh, but let's dispense of this tiresome game. Remembering your codename really is quite a bother, Taniyama-san. Would you mind telling me who you are? After all, Taniyama Juuri has been deceased for nine years."

"Just a girl who took a few psych courses on the side," Mai admitted, not even batting an eye. She did not seem even _remotely_ interested in the gun whose safety was being clicked into the _off_ position. She remained calm and collected as the woman looked at the black object in her hand with a cast-away look, stroking the trigger like an endearing pet.

"I see. Then perhaps you'll continue your studies in the afterlife?" the woman asked, finally pointing the gun. It was aimed—cleverly—at Mai's torso rather than her head. The woman smiled. "I would go for your mouth, as it might be a bigger target than your heart, but the rules are still the rules."

"Are you sure you should be the one to discuss small hearts, Tukiyo Yuko-san?" Mai inquired innocently, her eyes housing an accusatory glint. Oliver could tell that she was terrified now and wondered when on earth the backup support would intervene. Surely Mai would not do something as dangerous as this without backup—

As if on cue, sirens blasted into the night air, indicating the Calvary. Oliver would have been relieved if it were not for the look of surprise and unabashed rage on the face of Mai's verbal opponent. Oliver's face whitened at the weapon that was now a very real threat. He ran to intercept the scene, forgetting momentarily that this was only a memory.

"YOU BITCH!" the woman screamed, the threads of her sanity cut. The shot was not muffled and rang loudly through the night, yet had horrifying aim. Mai fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, obviously in pain. Oliver was at her side instantly, inspecting the damage critically. The present-day Mai followed his actions silently, settling across from his position over her body.

"Bitch, huh?" the girl on the ground gasped, a hollow smile on her face. "Not really… just an idiot…"

The scene around Oliver descended into darkness and he looked at the host herself, eyes ablaze with anger. Anger and hurt. _How_ could she do that to herself? _Why_ would she do that to herself? What the _hell_ had she been thinking?

"Why didn't you listen to Gene?" he finally hissed, that question able to wrap all of his queries together in his mind. Even if she had not always listened to _him_, he would have thought she would have paid heed to the twin who was just as rambunctious and wild as herself. When Mai gave no answer, he reached out and grabbed her shoulders. A portion of his mind was relieved when her form was solid beneath his fingertips.

"Mai, tell me," he demanded. She infuriatingly avoided his burning gaze. He needed her to look at him, to tell him what had propelled her to take such drastic action. "_Mai!_"

"Two years ago I realized that she was still out there," she started, still refusing to meet his gaze. Oliver noticed that she began to rub her fingers nervously as she continued. "All I had to go on was a spoken description and the fact that she killed Gene. I took a couple of psychology courses while working on my business major and tried to make a profile based on what I knew, but that didn't get me anywhere. I caught a lucky break when Gene recognized one of my classmates as the woman who ran him over. I thought about taking my case to the police, but I didn't have anything to go on except the fact that I _knew_ she did it. I needed proof."

"So you decided to play vigilante?" Oliver hissed, his grip subconsciously tightening on her shoulders. If she had not survived that ordeal, if she had actually _died…_ He would have had no one to return to here in Japan. Someone he considered to be one of the most important persons in the world would have been gone from it forever. "Do you have _any_ idea what would have happened to you? What I assume almost _did_ happen to you?"

"I'm—"

"Don't you dare say you're _fine_, Mai. I don't want to hear 'sorry' either. I want you tell me what it was that told you it was a good idea to play '_agent Taniyama_'," he ordered. He needed to know. What had caused her to do something so unbelievably stupid and dangerous? Mai's face remained obscured from his vision, but that was when he saw them. Her tears. She was not making a sound, repressing how she felt in order to not lose face in front of him. Something inside of him shifted. Either his stomach was shifting or his lungs gained a new weight.

Or he felt sad. No. 'Sad' did not capture the emotion adequately. Perhaps 'guilt' was a more appropriate word. Yes, he felt guilty.

Mai's tears, or seeing them for the second time in his life, made him feel guilty. The last time she had cried before him she had been mourning Gene. He had not left her, but nor had he the courage to look her in the eye. At the time, it was the only comfort he could give. To refuse to leave her alone with her tears. It was the only comfort he could give to them both. Now? Now she was so close, yet she was crying again. He always said things to make her cry. Why?

He decided to at least try and make slight amends. He was not wrong in wanting to know _why_ she had placed herself in unmistakable danger, but nor was he right in making her cry. But what to do? What could he do?

He could stop ordering her in her own mind. He was, after all, a guest here. She wanted him to see that for a reason, and if there was a reason he would assume it to be that his brother's murderess was caught and in jail for her crime against Mai. Of course, that was what she had to have meant by 'evidence'. He would have never believed it had she simply told him. She understood this and showed him the proof first rather than waste her words attempting to convince him.

He took a deep breath as she continued to cry. He understood _why_ she had shown him that horrible memory.

"You're so reckless…" he muttered. He looked at her shoulders where his hands still lay. He pressed his thumbs against her shirt, feeling. Just to know she was solid and she was here. Her risk had been stupid and brash, and he was certain there had to be a scar somewhere because of the shot. He was sure she had worked through the trauma enough to show him the memory, but she was still Mai and still able to be frightened, even by memories.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered. Oliver sighed, releasing a breath and tension he did not know would alleviate itself with those two words spoken in earnest. His frown remained in place.

"I do not want you to do anything that stupid again," he said honestly. Mai's breath hitched and her tears seemed to be easing themselves. "I don't care what reason you have, don't put yourself in danger of the living for the sake of the dead. Do you understand?"

"Do you…?" Mai asked softly before she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch, finally giving in to the gentle calls of sleep. Her mental energy was gone. Their time in her mind was up.

* * *

"Hi, uncle Gene," Yui said, attempting to act cool as she remained on the ground. She frowned. "You've got a funny look on your face…"

"How did you get here?" he asked, confused as he chose to rise to his feet. "The plane is dangerous and you could get really hurt if you're not careful."

"I know," Yui waved off his warning with a single motion of her hand. She rested her head against the ground. "I mean, I'm safe as long as I'm here on your plane, right? You already keep it free of mean ghosts so Mom can come over, right?"

"How did you know that? Not even Mai knows that…" Gene asked, previous suspicions rising to the forefront of his mind. There had been a theory in the back of his mind as to the identity of these children, but that was impossible. There was no way as he had checked in on Mai and Noll equally over the course of the past four years. He would have seen or even _noticed_—

"Um… I think I'm gonna go now," Yui said quickly, flopping over onto her back and rising up to her feet. "I'm kinda hungry."

"Yui, who—"

"Bye, uncle Gene!" the girl cried out in a hurry, allowing herself to fall backwards and out of Gene's astral plane. But the boy already had a few more pieces of the puzzle.

He was going to figure this out.

**_AmyNChan: There we go! I hope this is satisfactory!_**

**_Yui: What happened to 'perfect'?_**

**_AmyNChan: Whatever happened to 'nothing's perfect'?_**

**_Yui: Lowering your standards because of a child is shameful._**

**_AmyNChan: Why you—!_**

**_Kazi: *comes in and holds up a sign in messy handwriting that says "Please read and review!"*_**


	13. One Case Down

**_AmyNChan: Okay, I'm really sorry it's taken me so long. My life kinda turned a bit on its side, but it's getting better. Just letting you guys know that I won't be in tip-top writing shape for a while and please bear with me._**

**_Oliver: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt._**

"So the place really _is_ haunted?" Sawamura-san asked, his eyes wide at the video evidence the team had captured overnight. Oliver and Lin stood quietly, one taking notes and the other conducting the remainder of the investigation. The representative of the park, however, seemed to be in prime spirits. "This is excellent news. I feel so relieved. This means I'm not falsely advertising and therefore cannot be sued. Everyone has had adequate warning. Thank you—"

"I am afraid you are misunderstanding something quite plainly, Sawamura-san," Oliver stated with a cool manner. If one were to look at him, one would find nothing out of the ordinary. However, Lin was not one of the normal sort and knew Oliver quite well. He was perturbed about something, and Lin had not had a chance to inquire as to what as of yet.

He would question his boss and friend later.

"What is it I'm not understanding? The evidence _you_ gathered is right before my eyes," the man stated, waving grandly to the monitor that was in the room with them. "The land is _obviously_ haunted."

"You assume that every haunting is the responsibility of ghosts, and that those ghosts are doomed to forever wander the earth. This is part of the reason why you feel no guilt at continuing to profit from such an occurrence," Oliver stated, his accusation veiled very thinly. Before Sawamura-san could get a word in to defend his honor, the brilliant mind continued. "All assumptions of this statement are untrue. Ghosts can be destroyed or made to pass on into a peaceful afterlife, yet not all hauntings are the result of the departed."

"Wh-what are you talking about? Are—are you telling me a _human_ did that? That's impossible," Sawamura-san stated, waving off the notion. In his mind, a real human had feelings and therefore was not subject to a profit. It would be wrong to exploit a _living person_ for the sake of a tourist attraction.

The two men met eyes for a moment, each sizing up the other. Oliver's suspicions about the man increased the longer he observed him. Not inherently evil, yet also with a _very_ warped moral compass.

"Sawamura-san, am I correct in stating that you recently married to your present wife? The two of you met a year ago and married as recently as two months ago," Oliver asked. Taken aback by the sudden switch in conversation, the elder man could only respond honestly.

"What you say is true, but what does Kana have to do with this? She wouldn't—"

"Calm yourself, Sawamura-san. I am not accusing your wife of anything. She does not meet the general criteria for this type of activity," Oliver assured, effectively cutting the older man off. As the representative let off some steam, the investigator mused aloud. "Truth be known I was expecting more activity than this, but as the situation has begun to resolve it is only natural that the level of activity diminish."

"Situation? What situation?" Sawamura-san asked. He seemed genuinely concerned. Oliver obliged in revealing what he knew and what he had discovered that morning at six from a conversation with one person in particular.

"Your stepdaughter, Isuzu-san, has been feeling estranged from her mother since she began to date you, Sawamura-san. The time of your activity came with your wedding, at which time Isuzu-san had already been working here due to your efforts at securing her a job," Oliver explained. Sawamura-san nodded with the timeline of events, not quite seeing the larger picture. The prodigy continued to explain. "At that time, she completely cut herself off from everyone who knew her. Her social life had been deteriorating at a rapid rate because she could not understand why everyone around her was so happy and her so miserable. She wanted attention and did not know how to ask for it."

"But why does that matter? I can talk to Kana and we can talk to Isuzu-chan together. We never meant to leave her out," Sawamura-san stated, torn between raw honesty and feeling concerned that this man had so easily pried into his personal life and affairs. Deciding with the latter emotion, he hurried his train of thought along. "But how does that pertain to what's going on here? Isuzu-chan would never hurt a fly ever."

"Your stepdaughter has latent PK. It has the potential to be devastating if the situation were not resolved. It is very possible that she will grow out of the ability, but a smaller probability of these abilities continuing to thrive does exist. Please keep that in mind as she grows and take her emotions into account. She will not be responsible for everything that goes bump in the night, but as for these strange happenings, she is your culprit."

With that final word, the young man began to pack his equipment away, beginning with his famous notebook. He snapped it shut and moved papers in an orderly fashion to leave. Lin was waiting by the door when Oliver finally managed to collect his possessions and be on his way.

"What did you mean by you thought there would be more activity? What changed?" the man finally asked, as Oliver knew he would. It was not a necessity, so he would have left it alone; however, his curiosity to how the man would respond to his information had caused him to pack up more slowly than he would have otherwise.

He was unsure if the man were asking about his profit or if he were asking about the health of his stepdaughter. Regardless—as these speculations were none of his business—he answered the man's question.

"Mai was the first person in a year who did not congratulate her on a new father or encourage her personal life. Mai was kind to her and gave her the attention she needed and accepted her just because that's who she is," Oliver informed him. Without awaiting another question—Oliver only had so much patience, after all—the young man left with his original assistant, intent on seeing how the remainder of the team was faring. After all, not all of them had been awake for the five o'clock in the morning interview.

"You've changed. No more than a year ago you would have simply left without another word," Lin stated aloud. More of a quiet statement than an actual conversation starter. Nevertheless, the boy proceeded to respond.

"Time tends to have an effect on all people, regardless of whether they wish it or no," he conceded. He could admit that he had not wanted to change his behavior nor his interaction with people, but had found the subtle changes in his expressively cold demeanor ongoing for quite some time. Time had been pushing him to care for people around him, people he affected, people his work affected, even if he were not the best in expression those emotions. It was time, after all, that pushed him back to Japan and back into the lives of those he had affected the most.

Lin nodded at Oliver's statement. He could certainly agree that time had been the best medicine for his young friend's burdens.

"What are you to do about Taniyama-san and the children?" Lin asked. He knew the matter weighed heavily on his young friend's mind. He also knew that if left alone, Oliver might do something he would regret later. To his surprise, Oliver's eyes narrowed in anger.

"_Mai_ is going to have a lot of explaining to do when she wakes up…" he promised. "As for the children, they don't belong to Mai. It's an impossibility, given what abilities they possess."

"Abilities?" Lin queried. Oliver nodded, but said no more. He was, after all, a private person. Even in regards to his oldest friend, he still kept his share of secrets about him. He almost always had his hand of cards pressed closely to his chest.

A small pattering of feet alerted the two that they were being approached. They looked up to see the young boy with a beam across his face, running out to greet the two men. Oliver only stopped when Kazi had made it to his position and paused for a breath of air. As he silently gained his breath, Oliver raised an eyebrow.

"I believe I instructed you to go back to sleep with your sister. I won't be responsible if you collapse from exhaustion after the stunt you pulled yesterday," he said aloud, knowing perfectly well that the youth could hear and understand. Kazi had made that point perfectly clear at three-fifteen in the morning when Oliver had fallen out of his vision with Mai.

Kazi's only response was to look at his feet, then to look up at him with a sheepish grin. Even though the man knew for a _fact _that the child did not belong to Mai, their bright smiles did seem eerily reminiscent of one another…

Oliver was given no time to think upon such musings as the child grabbed his hand and began to make his way back to base. Irritated with being dragged about by a child, the young man surprised himself when he did not say a word, but allowed himself to be carted off by the child. He knew Lin sympathized with him, but was not surprised when the man came off with a sentence he himself had told Lin many years ago on a case.

"Look after your little kid, _daddy_."

With that brief reminder of Kenji-san and a silent promise of no rescue, Oliver was dragged off by an impressively strong five-year-old.

* * *

"'Doka, Mom's not waking up," Yui complained, once again pushing on the elder woman's shoulder to try and rouse her from her deep slumber. Madoka chose not to worry about Mai's refusal to open her eyes. Mai slept _all the time_ the last she had known her. And in Oliver's reports to the company—along with reports from Koujo ohoho—Madoka had been able to piece together the fact that the girl slept often before she had even met her for the first time.

Some things seemed to never change.

"I'm sure she'll wake up soon. After all, it's Christmas Eve, and Mai _loved_ Christmas when Noll and Koujo knew her," Madoka explained with a smile. Yui frowned in response and looked back at the sleeping brunette. She thought very hard about something. Something she wanted to say, but—

"It's creepy how much you look like Noll when you do that…" Madoka blurted first. Yui blinked and looked at the elder woman with surprise. Surprise and a bit of delight. Happiness flickered in her eyes, and Madoka caught it. "Aaand now you look like… What's your last name?"

"What's it matter?" Yui asked, immediately on the defense. Before Madoka could say another word, she popped off with "I'm hungry!"

"Now where have I heard that before?" Madoka pondered aloud, pretending to think back. Of course, she already knew _exactly_ where she had heard that excuse before. While she taught Oliver and Eugene everything she knew about ghost hunting, hunger had been Eugene's number one ticket on getting out of any assignment. Of course, it hardly ever worked when Luella was out of the house—unavailable to cater to her growing boys—but it never stopped him from attempting it. It was a series of memories Madoka held closely to her heart.

"I dunno," Yui answered honestly. She had never known where 'Doka had heard that before. She never said. She _had_ been hoping that she would not have heard it now, but she was sadly mistaken. Still, she _was_ hungry. "I want eggs!"

"We don't have eggs," Madoka said, playing along. She was going to bring the conversation back around. Somehow, someway, she was going to.

"Then I want toast!"

"We don't have toast."

"I want tea!"

"Should you even be having tea?" Madoka asked, her eyebrow raised. Yui nodded vigorously, thinking—wrongly—that she had gotten the pinkette woman off-track.

"Daddy has tea in the morning and in the afternoon and at night too! Mom and Kazu—Kazi make it for us and it tastes really good!" the young girl insisted. Madoka put her hand up to her chin, a trademark for any and all who knew her. Madoka was planning something, and unsuspecting little Yui was…shrinking away?

"You look like I'm about to do something horrible to you," Madoka joked. Truth be known, it was the way that her students often reacted whenever she assumed that posture. Only they would have that sort of reaction. The little girl jumped slightly and frowned.

"You always do that when you're planning something. Daddy said so…" Yui said before slapping her hands over her mouth. Oops…

"So I know your parents, huh?" Madoka asked, happy to have at least gotten a hint. She could relay it to Mai later when the girl was awake. Already, the pinkette was running through the list of all the men in her life. Regrettably, a fairly short list in and of itself, as her life had been swallowed by the paranormal. Perhaps it was an old school mate who knew her from Cambridge? But then why would a stranger's daughter know of her idiosyncrasies…?

Before Madoka could press further, the little girl wiggled her way away from Mai—who was still sleeping soundly on the couch—and pressed towards the door to the kitchen. The pinkette watched curiously as the girl fled, positioning herself in a position where she could keep an eye on both girls at once.

"Kazi, 'Doka's bein' mean!" Yui called out as she went inside the room. Kazi—who had Noll by the hand—only gave his sister a slight smile. While Yui's reaction was quite loud—a series of splutterings and denials—Noll's was much more subtle. His eyes widened and then narrowed almost unperceptively. Madoka made a mental note to interrogate him later.

"When's mom gonna wake up?" Yui demanded of Noll. The pink-haired woman hid her smile as the young child looked stubbornly at him. She made no move to help him as he tried to shelve his budding frustration. These children were _Mai's_ temporary houseguests, not his. He meant to ignore the girl, but she was adamant about receiving an answer. "Ne, ne, answer me!"

Oliver did not. He knew he was more stubborn than the child, and he would use that to his advantage. He also had an advantage the children did not know he had.

_Don't say it!_

_But it's hard!_

_But if you say it, he'll know!_

_No he won't, he'll be like mom and he won't think anything of it!_

_You don't know that._

_Yes I—_

_Yuzuki, don't say it!_

_Uggg! Fine!_

Both children seemed unaware of their third party occupant in their silent conversation. And that was good, though Oliver was left confused. Usually, when another person taps into a telepathic connection, an effort must be made to create the link, much like when Mai and himself focused in order to create their own link. Why was that effort unnecessary now?

Oliver Davis would get to the bottom of this. As soon as the children quit clambering over him and his ridiculous teacher would help him.

**_AmyNChan: Okay, I hope this works so far, guys._**

**_Mai: The quote Lin-san used to turn on Naru came from the manga. Amy-Chan had quite a hard time looking for it._**

**_AmyNChan: Please read and review, guys._**


	14. Of Children and Parents

**_AmyNChan: Okay, this took a while, but I hope you all like this chapter! *^_^*_**

**_Mai: How long has it been since the kids came again?_**

**_AmyNChan: Let's see… They actually came very late the night of the 21st and it's the 24th, so they've been here three days._**

**_Mai: Wow… so much happened in only three days?_**

**_AmyNChan: Careful… the entire world could change in one day and no one would be the wiser._**

**_Mai: …_**

**_AmyNChan: As such, I don't own Ghost Hunt! Please enjoy~! *^_^*_**

"How come Mom won't wake up?" Yui asked, her voice tinged with worry. For a five-year-old, she was fairly adept at hiding her ever-growing concern. However, to that end—

"You're smart, so why won't she wake up?" Yui demanded of Oliver once more. The man sighed in frustration. Madoka and Lin had volunteered to take a majority of the equipment back to base and then to return for the rest. When Oliver had attempted to sidestep being alone with the children again and allow Madoka time to entertain them—as she was far more well-versed in the area than he—she merely sidestepped the job by stating that she had some _important matters_ to discuss with Lin.

"Hey! Listen to me…!"

Curse you, Lin.

* * *

Lin kept his hands on the steering wheel, repressing the strongest urge to sneeze. Someone must have been talking about him. However, there were more pressing matters on his mind than who could have possibly been speaking of him. The delivery of SPR's equipment back to base was one of them. The other was finding a way to console his wife, who was currently hiding her sadness by means of mystery-solving.

Madoka was in the passenger seat of the van, trying hard to pretend that everything was all right and that she was not hurt in the slightest by the blatant arrival of the two children. Oh, Lin was thankful that they had arrived with an air of mystery so Madoka would have something to occupy her mind with other than what was obvious. But not so much that it was a mystery as to who their parents were. For the Lin couple, the thought of parents abandoning their children in the middle of nowhere was hard to stomach.

Especially when they had such troubles conceiving one of their own.

"…so it would _seem_ like I know the father, but I can't think of anyone _that_ heartless who has kids off the top of my head. Even _Noll_ wouldn't do that, and he can get downright cold sometimes…" Madoka finished her explanation, attempting to squash the feeling in her chest. That hollow feeling of inadequacy and loss. That feeling of wanting something so terribly and not being able to let yourself have it. She wanted so _badly_ to mother a child, yet no matter how she and Lin timed it or tried, they had not been lucky. Since their wedding last year, they had been trying so hard…

Madoka did not even realize she had been fisting her hands until Lin placed a soothing palm atop her fists. The woman could feel her husband's wedding band atop her fingers and was comforted by it somehow. She carefully turned her hand and ran her thumb over the hand she knew so well. One that would pull her up when she was distressed. One she would pull hurriedly when she was excited. One that belonged to a man who saw her as an equal and something to be treasured all at once. One that belonged to a man she so desperately loved.

"Madoka, if you want, we could get an appointment…" Lin offered. They had discussed alternate methods of impregnation before, but those talks had always ended in the same manner.

"Koujo, I know you don't approve of those, and you know how I feel about them," the pinkette stated, looking at the hand of her beloved for strength. "We've both been examined by a doctor before, and while conceiving a child won't exactly be _easy_, it's not impossible."

"Madoka…" Lin murmured. Though his eyes were trained fixatedly on the road, emotion could be heard in his voice. He was glad that she would never ask him to betray his beliefs, but at the same time he felt devastated that he could not give her the child she so readily wanted and was ready for. Caught between gratitude for the woman he loved and disappointment in himself, he settled for bringing her hand up to his lips, planting a meaningful kiss along the cool skin of the back of her hand. The scent of her skin put him under her spell and reassured him all at once. Allowed for his selfishness while wishing he could be selfless all at once. What this woman could do to him without even trying…

"I love you, too, Koujo…" Madoka returned, just as gently, wanting nothing more than to nuzzle into the crook of Koujo's neck right now. She was going to be strong for the both of them. To keep them both going and to keep her own complaints down to the absolute minimum. And, one day, perhaps their patience would be rewarded with a child of their very own.

Until then, she was going to love her husband with all of her might and absolutely _spoil_ little Yui and Kazi while finding out who would _dare_ to abandon two small children in the middle of Tokyo. This was Madoka Lin's prerogative.

* * *

Oliver watched as the children entertained themselves with a coin he had pulled from his pocket thirty minutes ago. A mere 500 yen coin that could not buy anything, but Oliver found it interesting how the children had not even _thought_ of spending it. Instead, the two had an odd fixation with the coin. Yui had attempted—multiple times by now—to get the coin to speak. Oliver could always tell when she was attempting. Her throat always moved and she could never get her lips to close enough to cast the illusion that the coin was speaking instead of her.

Obviously, her brother also noticed these flaws and pointed them out to her, causing her to get more flustered with each attempt. This was attempt number sixteen in only thirty minutes.

"H-hi," the 'coin' attempted to speak in a higher voice. Yui moved the coin between her fingers, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "I-I like to g-go to…aw, shoot!"

The coin had once again fallen between her fingers and to the floor. The girl reached for it and shot a look at her brother. Curiously, the man had a feeling they were communicating via telepathy, but he could not hear them. It was more than likely that the young boy's connection was strongest with his sister, which allowed him to 'speak' to her without physical touch. He would have to ask Mai when she woke up if she had ever heard the young boy speak in her mind.

"K-Kazi, don't ant—ant… Ne, ne, what's that word?" Yui turned around, suddenly, facing Oliver with intense eyes. The young man simply looked at her, wondering which word she was attempting to grasp. "It's like **ah-nnn-t-ah…** Ah, you know it!"

As the girl continued to flounder about whatever word it was that she was missing, Oliver was mildly surprised. The girl knew English, and actually spoke with an accent he recognized. The way she shaped her vowels was the way his mother did often. Was it possible that these children were international? Or could they have picked the language up elsewhere? Curious…

"The word you're looking for is 'antagonize'," Oliver finally stated. However, he quickly wished that he had not said a word. As soon as he had spoken, both of the children had turned to him with surprise. They blinked—almost in sync—and then the girl ran to sit on his lap. He could not tell if it were unfortunate that he was quickly becoming accustomed to this.

"He speaks! He speaks!" Yui cried out dramatically. Kazi—still on the floor—sighed at his sister's excitement. He picked the forgotten coin off of the ground and made his way—at a much calmer pace—to the raven haired man. Upon handing the coin back to him, Kazi made a flat hand and touched the tip of his chin before leveling his hand horizontally with a smile.

"You're welcome," the young man said as he tucked the coin away into the folds of his jacket. The young boy watched curiously as Oliver did so. Sighing because he had nothing better to do, Oliver simply sat there and waited for the young boy to finally climb up onto his lap.

"I wanna walk around," Yui said, getting off of Oliver as soon as her brother got on. She walked over to the couch—where Mai _still _lay sleeping!—and shook the sleeping woman on the shoulder with both hands and all of her might. "Moooom! I wanna walk around! Wake uuuuup! Moooooom!"

"Let her sleep," Oliver intervened before the child could become _too_ rough. "She's drained a lot of energy and needs to recuperate. I suspect she'll be asleep for another fifteen minutes, at least."

"But—!"

"Leave her be," the man reiterated, fixing a glare on the child. Not a glare that he would have succumbed Lin to—as that man was a big man and could take it—but rather a kid-sized version of a glare. Enough to let her know he was serious, but not enough to frighten her. It would not do to have a wailing child in the middle of 'base'.

"But I'm _bored_!" the girl complained, her face pleading with him to make things go her way. Unfortunately, his will was stronger than hers.

"Find something to entertain yourself with," the man returned. He wondered if perhaps giving her the coin would entertain her again, but he had a feeling it would not. The girl seemed unlikely to fall for the same trick twice, and now it was _his_ job to figure out how to keep her from whining his ear off for the next fifteen minutes.

* * *

"I cannot believe I am doing this…" Oliver griped almost silently. He kept an eye on the children as they zipped around the store. Yui went from item to item in the gift shop, trying to find exactly what she was looking for. Kazi was on the other side of the aisle, also looking at the numerous trinkets that surrounded them. They were both looking for something Oliver had suggested.

A Christmas present for Mai.

_It diverted their attention quickly enough…_ the young man mused. Surprisingly, it had been Isuzu-san who had entered the former base to relieve him. She had asked to watch over Mai and Oliver—seeing that the girl would not say what she needed to say and clear up her issues with PK with him in the room—obliged her request and took the children out of the room. He had come to the gift shop upon remembering his and Mai's conversation the night previous about Christmas presents. Giving the children the task of getting her a gift had been a no-brainer after that.

Still, just because the solution had been simple did not have to mean that he _enjoyed_ it. Shopping for the holidays had never been his particular cup of tea.

"What about this?" Yui asked, pointing at a very large stuffed animal on a high shelf. Oliver raised an eyebrow. Why would anyone get another such an impractical gift?

A faint tugging on his jacket caused him to turn his head. Kazi was at his side, pointing to something he had found for Mai. Oliver followed his gaze to find a tea cup on a high shelf. It was fragile and Oliver could not fathom why an _amusement park_ would sell tea cups in their gift shop. It was then that he got an idea. What the children chose represented how they viewed Mai. Yui chose the teddy bear, which could mean companionship or comfort or even childishness. Kazi chose a tea cup, which could represent anything from provider to comforter to responsible.

"Pick one thing to give her together," he instructed, storing away what the children had first chosen in his mind. He watched as they both frowned. Kazi was the first to turn to his sister. He was more compromising than she. Then again, he had already deduced this fact from mere interactions with the two. Oliver watched as the two children went back around the store, this time hand-in-hand. Yui would point something out and Kazi would frown. Kazi would point something out and Yui would shake her head. Oliver watched them carefully, tucking this process in the back of his mind. He could not hear them, but he knew they were working as a team. That was a good thing to keep in mind.

Finally, they both stopped in front of something. Kazi did not frown and Yui did not shake her head. Oliver looked up at what the children were looking at and was vaguely surprised.

They had stopped in front of a simple necklace. It was a small chain upon which hung a cheap imitation of a ruby. The 'stone'—in all actuality a cheap plastic copy—was in the shape of the circular ride which used gravitational forces to keep persons pressed to the wall of the ride whilst it moved. The ride was typically called 'spin out' or something akin to those terms.

"This one!" Yui declared for the both of them. Oliver tucked more information away as he joined the duo and paid for the necklace—a 1000 yen purchase.

"I must say, your children are absolutely darling," the woman over the cash register smiled as she rang the necklace up. "It's so nice to see a father able to be with his children if only for an afternoon. I imagine work makes you very busy."

"Quite, however—"

"He brought us here to get a gift for mom!" Yui announced loudly, cutting Oliver off from his statement. "Because it's Christmas!"

"Oh, so you and your brother picked this out, did you?" the woman asked, carefully placing the necklace into the box. She gave a slight chuckle when Kazi gave an enthusiastic nod. She handed the bag and change back to Oliver while addressing Kazi. "You don't talk a lot do, you, little man? All right, then. You enjoy your Christmas."

"We will!" Yui guaranteed as she led the way out of the small gift shop.

* * *

The first thing she was aware of was a silence. There was no keyboard, no shuffling of papers, no movements that she could hear. In fact, all was so silent that she was inclined to believe that she was simply back in her apartment on her nice futon, needing to get up for her job the photography store and not having to worry about two strange children in her home. As such, she began to wake herself up by means of stretching before opening her eyes.

"Mai-san?" a somewhat familiar voice asked softly. Mai turned her head and opened her eyes blearily. Through an image hazed with sleep, she could make out the general face of a young teenage girl. She had brunette hair and seemed fairly short.

_She reminds me of me a bit…_ Mai thought before yawning and rubbing her eyes into focus. When she opened them once more, she saw Isuzu-chan sitting across the room from her, her eyes wide and somewhat anxious. _Wait… If Isuzu-chan is here, then…_

Mai bolted to attention, instantly scanning the room for two certain little people who she felt very responsible for. Or even a certain narcissistic boss who she needed to talk to, but kind of wished she did not have to…

"What are you looking for?" the young teenager asked, surprised to see someone move so quickly after just waking up. It usually took her the better part of twelve minutes to be fully awake. At least enough to move _that_ fast.

"There should be two kids here, a little boy and a little girl. He's got brown hair and a green tee shirt on and she's got black hair and a little black dress. Were they here when you came in?" Mai asked in a hurried manner, a cold feeling awash in her stomach. Already, she was on her feet in order to search the hiding areas around the room. Cupboards, behind the couch, and the like.

"Oh, your boss offered to take them so I could talk to you. They've been gone for about fifteen minutes now…" the young girl said, looking at her watch. Mai blinked before scanning the room once more. She then took her seat and settled into thought. She knew that they had spent a few minutes together last night before she had found them, but there was no way the children had attached themselves to him that quickly…

Was there?

Mai considered it briefly before allowing herself to let it slide for now. No matter what, she knew that the children would be safe with him, if nothing else. She could investigate their sudden attachment to him and his allowance of such an attachment later. For now, there was a thirteen year old who seemed anxious to speak with her.

"Okay… Is there something you wanted to talk about, Isuzu-chan?" Mai asked, a warm smile on her face. Now that she could see the girl clearly, she noticed her face. The bags that had been under her eyes were lessening and her hair was pulled carefully out of her face, revealing her bright and inquisitive eyes.

"Yeah, there is. You're an adult, but you talk more like a kid. And you seem really happy, too. And you're nice but you can still fight with your boss and not get in trouble. How do you do that?" she asked. Mai was taken aback, and her expression must have shown it because the girl's expression darkened slightly.

"Mom and Sawamura-shi have been really happy together. They don't even care that I'm there anymore. I mean, I managed to sneak off this morning to ask you how to be happy for myself and they're probably not even wondering where I am…" the girl trailed off in a mumble. She sighed heavily. "I don't really care for making a scene, but I'm tired of being ignored, or only paid attention to because 'mommy and daddy got married, aren't you so happy?'. I'm sick of it. I want me to be important, too. I want to be important and _I_ want to be happy. Is that too much to ask?"

Isuzu felt the tears of frustration prick at her eyes, but she was so beyond the point of caring. She was done with feeling insignificant and small. She was done with feeling like her happiness came second to her mom's. She was done. So very done. For _once_, she wanted to be important, too.

"That's not too much to ask at all, Isuzu-chan," Mai said softly. Her heart went out for the girl. She could remember feeling just as lost and alone as this girl at her age, albeit for slightly different reasons. "Everyone has a right to be important and cared for in their own way. Your mother cares for you very much and I'm sure she's very worried about you right now."

"How can you know that?" Isuzu asked, feeling lost and alone and hurt. Her faith in this woman was fading by the moment. She did not understand. How could she? How could she have thought an _adult_ could understand her distress? "She doesn't know where I am and she doesn't even care because she's so happy with her new husband!"

"Well, Isuzu-chan, if she didn't care then I wouldn't be seeing her, standing behind you, looking like she just ran a marathon to get here and find you," Mai answered calmly. Isuzu's eyes widened as she whipped around. Sure enough, her mother was standing in the doorway, looking at her daughter with equally wide eyes and lost breath. It was obvious the elder woman had just gone through quite a scare and had not even bothered to clothe her bare feet in her haste to leave the house. Her hair was a mess and she had barely thrown a bathrobe over her pajamas.

As the woman fought to regain her breath, Isuzu simply sat there, stunned. Her mother was no less than fifty years old! How on earth…?

"Sawamura-Kagome Isuzu, don't you _ever_ scare me like that again…" her mother finally said, pulling herself to a ladylike height. Without really casting a glance to Mai, she strode into the room and walked around the couch until she was face-to-face with her daughter. "I went to check on you this morning and you were _gone!_ And then Akihiko came over here to see if you were here and couldn't find you anywhere. We were so _worried!_ What were you _thinking_?"

Isuzu broke from her mother's grasp angrily. "Why do you suddenly care? Everything I've heard over the past _year_ is about how _nice_ and _kind_ Sawamura-shi is to you. And then when I finally meet him _four months ago_, he acts like he's surprised I even _exist_! You went off and found your own happiness with someone new and left me behind! Why do you suddenly care when you just _haven't_?!"

The sound of a hand hitting a cheek resounded around the room. Mai's eyes widened as Isuzu-chan was shocked into silence. The eldest woman in the room had a stern look on her face with tears flowing down her face.

"How dare you…" Kana choked out. "How dare you think—for even one moment—that I don't care… Akihiko misunderstood me when I talked of you… He thought you would be younger and had to readjust himself. He asks me nightly what he's doing wrong and how to be a family… How can you think we would ever abandon you? How could you think _I_ would ever abandon you? Have you lost your sense?!"

"If you care so much then prove it! Quit ignoring me when I want to talk to you and stop acting like I'm just a third wheel on an awkward date! I want things to be like they were before! I want my mom back and I want my life back!" Isuzu shouted, tears rolling freely down her face. "We haven't talked since you met him, and when we have it's been nothing _but_ him. I don't _want_ to talk about guys and I don't _want_ to be left behind. Can't I just be me and be loved for it? Can't you just _stop ignoring me_?"

Isuzu felt so hurt, so raw. She said what was on her mind, but she wanted to say so much more. She wanted to beg and plead. Kick and scream. Accuse and be accused. She wanted to fight and she wanted to give up. She wanted the chaos to end and yet she felt as though she would be lost without it. Everything hurt so much and she found no comfort in sight.

Which was why she was surprised when her mother hugged her and all she could do was cling. Cling as tightly as a newborn babe to her mother. Her mother stroked her hair as she used to when Isuzu was little, allowing the girl to let a sob pass her lips. She clung to her comfort and her mother held tighter. For the past year she had worried about her daughter. Yes, she had gotten married and yes she was happy with her husband, but she had been concerned for her daughter as well. When she had looked for her in the morning to talk, she had found her gone.

Words could not describe the absolute horror that mother had experienced upon seeing her daughter's empty bed.

As mother and daughter continued to hug, clinging to each other for the first time in a long while, Mai felt it was finally time to slip from the room unnoticed. The women would need time to heal their wounds and reestablish their bond as a family, but Mai hoped that the communication that had just been opened would continue to work towards that goal. As she shut the door, she smiled and turned. She needed to find her boss and the children she cared for.

This case was completely over.

**_AmyNChan: Okay, I couldn't just leave it at that, so I had to give the case some real closure. ^^;_**

**_Mai: Now that case is really over?_**

**_AmyNChan: Yes, that case is really over. Over over. Done with. All gone. *^_^*_**

**_Mai: Really?_**

**_AmyNChan: As far as I know. XD_**

**_Mai: *sighs*_**

**_AmyNChan: lol, anyhoot, please read and review, and I hope you liked the longer chapter~! *^_^*_**


	15. Old Faces

_**AmyNChan: Honey, I'm home and—**_

_**Mai: That song doesn't come out for another two years!**_

_**AmyNChan: aw… ;_;**_

_**Oliver: Just tell the readers who could be reading something far better than this that you do not own Ghost Hunt.**_

_**AmyNChan: mou… you're so mean! ;_;**_

December 25th was Christmas, and Mai would have never foreseen herself spending it in this manner. She was currently walking around Tokyo square, a warm coat draped around her shoulders to defend herself from the cold. Tokyo was not known for snow, even around the holidays. That one year with Kenji-kun had been quite odd.

So the lack of snow was not what caused her to feel such apprehension. No, it was the fact that she was walking down the street with a person she had convinced herself just a few days ago would never come back to Japan.

"So...where do you think we should start?" Mai asked, fumbling with her list. Of course, she knew he would not stay long enough to shop with her. He was her to talk to her about how irresponsible her actions were, how she should have kept herself safe, ask her about how she learned telepathy to the point of being able to block him out when she wanted to, blah, blah, blah. Honestly, she had not stopped long enough to let him ask his questions since he showed up on her doorstep this morning. They had just dropped the kids off with Madoka and Lin-san so she could get her Christmas shopping done.

"You know that's not why I'm here right now," Oliver said. He had been trying to get answers from her nonverbally for the past hour. He had tried tricking her mind into revealing what she was thinking, but her walls were surprisingly sturdy. He supposed he would have to thank Gene for teaching her so well, but if he ever saw his twin again he was going to throttle him.

"I was thinking of a toy shop, but I don't know what kind of toys they'd like..." Mai continued, attempting to ignore his implication. It was Christmas and she was going to get those adorable kids something if it was the last thing she did!

"_Mai_, answer my questions," he demanded. His frown was deep set into his face. He was aware that she knew how much trouble she was in with him, but what perplexed him was the fact that she was not worried. Nor did she seem remorseful. Did she have a death wish?

"As far as I can tell, you haven't asked any," she returned simply. She looked into the window of a toy shop. There was a train set and a doll. Mai thought about it for a moment before brushing the idea away. Yui and Kazi did not seem to be the type of children interested in dolls or trains.

"Fine. I'll start simply, then. What were you thinking that night?" he hissed. When Mai merely continued to look into a store's window, he approached and stood close to her side, ensuring she could hear every word that passed his lips. "What possessed you to think it was a good idea to throw your life away like that?"

"I wasn't throwing away my life," Mai breathed. Could he _get_ any closer? She averted her eyes so he was completely out of her vision. "I saw a chance to do good and I took it."

"Do good for _who_, might I ask?" Oliver seethed quietly, yet Mai heard every word. "Unless it escaped your notice, Gene is dead and you could have very well joined him that night if it weren't for the police actually _doing their job_. And I _know_ he didn't put you up to it because I _heard_ him tell you to stop."

Mai did not answer his question, which gave him more time to think on his brother's words that he had heard. Now that he thought about it, Gene had not simply said to stop. He had said that she had _done enough_. Oliver got the feeling there was more to the relationship between his brother and Mai than simply romantic feelings, if even that. There were secrets and Oliver was not sure how far to push to get to them.

_Don't ask me that... Ask me something else... anything else..._ Mai requested silently, appearing to be engrossed in the window. They both knew her mind was on this conversation. Oliver decided to ease off for now that he might ask again later. He was _not_ going to let it drop so easily.

"Gene taught you how to create a telepathic link," he stated, not seeing any need to put his theory into question format. As expected of Mai and her honesty, she nodded. She pushed herself off of the window and began to walk down the street, Oliver in tow. "That's not all he taught you how to do."

"I'm still learning this and that. Mainly how to keep safe during a case," Mai explained, shrugging of his question. Of course, a majority of time was spent just talking, joking, and hanging out. Gene had, after all, become one of her best and closest friends in the time she had gotten to know him. "He checks in on you a lot, so I see him for a few months before he goes back to keep an eye on you and everyone else."

This did not surprise Oliver. She knew it did not surprise him. She simply wanted him to know for sure. He would not tell her that he appreciated the gesture, even though he did. He merely nodded.

"Anything else?" he asked. He knew his brother and Mai were still in contact, knew that she had done her risky vigilante for someone who was _not_ Gene, and was starting to feel cold. He would have to figure out if he could contact his brother sometime soon.

"Yeah. Are you _sure_ you don't want anything for Christmas?" Mai queried, trying to bring the conversation back around her way. She frowned as she realized she could not think of anything for the children except to buy them some new clothes. Then again, having different outfits would probably be a good thing for them as she still had no clue how long it would take to find their parents. Maybe if she had their real _names_ she could actually _get_ somewhere in that department.

A blunt refusal was on the tip of Oliver's tongue. He was going to tell her not to think about it and to not waste her money on him. However, he knew if he did that she would probably get him a book or something. Probably either one he had already read or something with those kanji in it. Despite having learned a little more on the Japanese writing system, he was still somewhat inept in that area. Might as well give her what she wanted and get himself what he wanted at once.

"One thing," he finally consented. Mai's head snapped up. She had been expecting him to say no. She had been expecting having to look around a library for hours finding a good book for him to read. She waited for him to continue. "I told you that I would remain 'Naru' to friends and colleagues. Call me that from now on."

"Why?" Mai asked. She wanted to know if it was because she was working with him or if it were because he felt that they were friends. It was something she needed to know.

Oliver did not respond verbally, but with his eyes. He knocked on the door to their telepathic link and she refused to hear it over their personal connection. She wanted to hear his answer said aloud from his lips. So she was being picky, so what? It was important to her. Extremely important.

Instead, he passed her a slip of paper without breaking eye contact. Confused, she looked down at her hand. She turned the slip over and examined it for a moment. "Wait, I don't—"

But he was gone. He had disappeared in the crowd, leaving her with a mere slip of paper. She opened it up curiously to note that he had written the list in kanji. It was broken and she had a hard time figuring out a few of the characters he had written, but she smiled when she saw the title of the list.

'Gift idea bets. Lin and Madoka.' She scanned the list and noted its ending note. 'You worry seemed to be. A small brain for ideas.'

Mai sighed and pocketed the list. That Naru and his horrible kanji...

She continued her shopping with a smile on her lips.

* * *

It was December 29th and Mai was waiting in the airport, hanging onto the hands of two excited children. Yui had a different black dress donned and she had a pair of black gloves on. Kazi wore a deep green sweater and matching gloves as well. Both children had been grateful for their gifts, even if Yui had protested receiving hers a little bit. It had taken Mai showing the necklace she now wore all the time to get the girl to accept without a huge fuss.

Both children still looked so happy that Mai wore the necklace they had chosen for her all by themselves.

"Where are they?" Yui asked impatiently, as she had for the past fifteen minutes. Mai sighed. When she had told Naru that she had to pick up Ayako and Bou-san from the airport, he had told her to take the day off in order to greet the duo and get them situated back into Japan. Mai suspected his true motive lie in the fact he did not want to deal with the two any sooner than necessary.

"Their plane should have landed about forty-five minutes ago…" Mai answered, looking around for a familiar shade of red hair or a large black-cased guitar. She knew it could take anywhere from that amount of time to an hour to get off an international plane. Customs, getting luggage, etc. It usually took the feisty duo forty five, though.

"..this way!" a familiar voice stated loudly, turning many heads in the very busy airport.

"No, it's the other way, old hag!" a second voice returned. Mai smiled as the two people she had been waiting for finally came into sight. Fighting, as per usual. Despite having gotten together last year, the two still got on each other's nerves and fought constantly. Though, nowadays, love could be seen through the harshness of their words.

"Who are you calling a hag, you old man?" Ayako shouted angrily. Mai chuckled as she sighed. Well, so much for obvious love.

"Aya, Bou-san!" Yui shouted loudly, getting the latter's attention easily. Though Ayako, not realizing she had been called, paid no heed to the little girl. So Yui decided to call her the other name to get her attention. "Old hag!"

That got her attention.

"_Yui_, don't say such things," Mai scolded, appalled and—even though she would never admit it aloud—slightly amused that the five-year-old had blurted that out in public. The girl merely offered a pout in response to the elder woman's reprimand. Mai sighed. This child had such a difficult temperament.

"_Mai_?" a voice asked from before her. Mai turned to see two shocked faces of Bou-san and Ayako standing in front of her. Momentarily ignoring their stunned expressions, she smiled at both of them, wishing she could envelop them both in a hug. She settled for giving them both a very large smile.

"I missed you guys!" she said happily. Evidently, that was enough to jar the two from their surprise momentarily. Bou-san's hug was just as bone crushing as she remembered.

"Bou-san…can't breathe!" she gasped. He let go quickly enough upon hearing the young girl's plea. Ayako nodded in approval, thankful that she did not have to damage the contents of her purse once more with the thickness of her boyfriend's skull.

"Sorry, Jou-chan," he said, holding the woman at arm's length. Curiously, he placed his hand at the top of her head and grinned. "You keep getting taller. You're supposed to stop that, you know."

"Bou-san…" Mai muttered dejectedly. She happened to enjoy getting taller, just not getting clothes to go along with her new height. She began to turn away from the man she considered a surrogate father with a frown but was caught up in a hug by Ayako.

"We missed you, Mai. I really wish you'd have come with us," she said as she held the twenty year old woman. Mai blinked before returning the hug gently.

"You know I couldn't have," Mai reminded her with a good-natured chuckle. "I didn't have enough vacation time for it. You were gone for _two weeks_!"

"The way you keep hopping jobs you'll _never_ get any vacation time," Bou-san said from the side, his voice tinged with worry as it always did when the topic cropped up. "I don't understand why you don't just let us do the hunting so you can concentrate on a stable life for yourself. But by the look of these little guys, you're into foster care now?"

"Idiot. Foster care was phased out in 1948. Kids were getting abused and stuff," Ayako scoffed. Upon seeing the confused looks of Mai and her boyfriend—quite possibly questioning how she came across such information—she rolled her eyes and pressed on with an explanation. "My parents are doctors and I spent a portion of my life trying out pediatric care. Some of that stuff sticks."

"So… you adopted? Mai, you don't—"

"I know, Bou-san. But I didn't adopt them," Mai attempted to explain. The face of Bou-san drained of color and he clutched his heart dramatically.

"Jou-chan, don't tell me you're a criminal," he gasped. Mai's eyes widened as she waved her hands.

"Bou-san, what are you thinking? They literally showed up at my apartment overnight a little over a week ago!" Mai denied, trying hard to show him that she was no criminal. "Naru and I are trying to figure out who their parents are since they won't tell us, but—"

"Wait a minute, _Naru_?" Ayako gasped. "He's back? And you're _talking_ to him?"

Mai could only nod in response. Ayako felt a spot of shock flood her system. It had taken about a year for Mai to even be comfortable _thinking_ about the boy again. And when she had finally been okay with it, she had gone through a six-month bout of anger. Still, last Ayako had heard, if the boy ever chose to show his face again, he was going to have to _earn_ the name 'Naru' back. Whatever happened to that plan?

"He hasn't been stalking you, has he?" Bou-san asked seriously. Mai frowned disapprovingly at the elder man. He held his hands up in defense. "Just making sure!"

"Bou-san, don't talk bad like that! It's not nice!" Yui spoke up, putting her hands on her hips defiantly. The guitarist looked down at angry blue eyes that were a glare so irritated that if the eyes were not on the face of a little girl, he would have thought he were staring down a miniature Naru. The thought gave the guitarist an idea. An idea which his girlfriend shared.

"Mai, are you sure these kids aren't Naru's? Or, the girl at least?" Ayako asked. Mai shot the elder woman a look, but she only continued in a whisper. "And if he says no, I wouldn't mind doing a DNA test for you guys to make sure…"

"Ayako—" Mai began in a warning tone, and then stopped. A DNA test. Was there not something in the news about that last year? Some child reunited with their parents because of a drop of blood? She looked down at the children, who were currently engaging in a debate with Bou-san over manners. Yui and the elder man were each accusing the other of not having any. Kazi was on the sidelines, smiling and laughing silently.

"They won't tell us who their parents are. I don't think it's Naru, but do you think we could try that to try and find them?" Mai asked. It was a shot in the dark, but the more Mai thought about it, the more she became convinced that it was an idea worth trying, at least. Ayako clicked her tongue, thinking about it.

"This kind of thing is newer to the medical field, and it's still only being used in court cases…" Ayako admitted. "If we happened to find their biological parents this way, it's very probable that they could have parents who have been or currently are incarcerated. It's also very probable that their parents are dead and they could have been adopted by someone else who they call 'mom' and 'dad'."

Mai fell silent to this logic, instantly lost in the pros and cons of such a thing. Though Ayako did not state it explicitly, taking the test could end up dangerous for her or an abuse of her position in her parents' hospital. Also, as this was new it could very well be yet another dead end. They could have very well been adopted. The final thing to consider was whether or not to ask the children if they would like their DNA tested in the first place. Mai had flipped out when she thought Naru had tried Psychometry without permission. Was this sort of testing the same thing? Should the children not have the choice to say 'no'?

"You think about it for a while, but I know that _I've_ got to get my beauty sleep," the red headed woman smirked. Mai nodded and turned to gather Bou-san and the children up.

"Can we ride the train back?" Yui asked, excited. "I wanna ride the train!"

"Sure," Mai said, a smile pulling on her features to see the normally stormy girl so excited. She turned to Kazi and held onto his gloved hand. "Do you want to ride the train, Kazi?"

The young boy smiled widely and nodded, causing a smile on Mai's face as well. His smile was so infectious that she momentarily forgot her struggle against the testing and attempting to find their parents.

Ayako and Bou-san both raised their eyebrows at the same time.

* * *

Oliver shuffled another paper from his desk into the pile of completion. He had already met with the monk and priestess—he would never admit that he had been nervous upon meeting them again after his abrupt departure—and they had agreed to come and work for him part time once more. He had been pleasantly surprised to realize that they had taken Mai in and gone on cases once every blue moon during his stay at England.

He knew the relief was because he was glad she had not been alone for four long years.

Naru looked at the clock on the wall, noting duly that it was almost noon. He sighed and rubbed his eyes, facing a decision. He knew Mai was worried about something, but she had not come out and said anything. She had acted this way since picking Matsuzaki-san and Takigawa-san up from the airport yesterday. He knew she would out with it soon if it was very important, but he was not sure what was taking her so long. He wanted to help her out, but was unsure how.

Maybe a one-on-one would get her to open up? Naru contemplated the thought. He admitted to himself that it would be easier to talk with her outside of the office where they had a very established relationship of employer and employee. He, after all, knew they were friends and that he would do anything to help her.

The door to his office opened abruptly and closed clumsily. Oliver sighed, knowing who his intruder was. Especially when the said intruder shuffled in a crawl on the floor, making their way to the bathroom in his office. The door opened and shut without so much as a greeting. Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. Since the children did not have a daycare, they had come to occupy the SPR office while Mai was supposed to be working. The day after Christmas, Kazi had wandered into his private sanctuary and began reading his books, making himself comfortable on the couch. Oliver had not minded the silent child. It was good that he was educating himself. After that, however…

The door to his office opened again, this time revealing Mai. She looked apologetic and somewhat exasperated. "Naru, did Yui come in here by any chance?"

"She's in the bathroom," he answered her. Mai nodded in thanks before making her way to the bathroom. Kazi trailed in after her, still having his little green gloves on. He had definitely taken a liking to them and seemed to have no intention of taking them off anytime soon.

While Mai knocked on the door to the bathroom in order to extract Yui, Kazi made his way deeper into the room. Oliver kept an eye on him as he approached his desk, a book carefully tucked under his arm. It was actually rather comical how small the boy appeared next to the vast amount of knowledge into his side.

Kazi propped the book up on Oliver's desk and pointed to a word. It being English, Oliver was able to easily explain the word and what it meant swiftly. Again, a tradition that had been borne in merely a few days. Since their first full day in the office. Oliver had found it annoying at first, but after hearing Mai attempt to suggest different reading material for the boy he had found it not quite so bothersome a task. Whenever young Kazi entered the office now—usually after Mai who was chasing down Yui—Oliver would assist with the young boy's knowledge. It took him no more than a single visit after he agreed to help to realize that Kazi was vastly more intelligent than those around his age. A normal child would have asked for help several dozen times over by page ten. Kazi was intelligent, yet extremely quiet. Almost soundless in comparison to his sister.

Though, for what reason, Oliver could only venture a few guesses. Educated guesses, but guesses nevertheless.

"Lugubrious means dark or gloomy. In this sense, it's to emphasize how dangerous this material can be. Do you understand?" Oliver asked. Kazi's eyebrows furrowed as he processed the new information, and then he nodded. Oliver nodded as well before turning back to his material. He looked over another sheet of paper. Another fake case clamoring for attention.

"_Yui_!" Mai exclaimed, the little girl becoming little more than a little black blur as she darted from the bathroom. The woman sighed in exasperation. How could _one person_ cause so much _trouble_? "Kazi, make sure you tell Naru 'thank you'."

A large thud in the other room called Mai out almost immediately, leaving Kazi to say his thanks. Kazi signed and Oliver nodded. The former left the office with a quiet 'click' of his door.

How was Oliver going to get Mai to have a one-on-one while the children were always demanding her time? Perhaps it _was_ the children Mai needed a break from. Oliver thought on that for a moment. She had been thrust into the role of 'mother' to these kids fairly quickly and it seemed as though she was not quite adjusted yet. There was no doubt that she cared for them greatly, but having to be responsible for them and responsible for finding a way to unearth their heritage appeared to be taking its toll.

Oliver looked at the clock. It was now a little past one.

He had an idea.

_**AmyNChan: Do you guys know how much **__**fun**__** it is to figure out how to mess up Naru's writing?**_

_**Naru: *glares***_

_**AmyNChan: Honestly, he's really bad at kanji, though he is trying. XD**_

_**Mai: *still laughing***_

_**Naru: It's not funny.**_

_**AmyNChan: Au contraire!**_

_**Mai: *catching her breath* Please don't forget to read and review for AmyChan so she can keep writing!**_

_**AmyNChan: Pretty please~! *^_^***_


	16. Of Breaks and Dates

_**AmyNChan: I'm late, but I got stuck on this one! ^^;**_

_**Mai: To make up for it, she's drawn a few comics that should be up on her deviantart page by the end of the week!**_

_**AmyNChan: ehe, yeah. XD In any event, I don't own Ghost Hunt**_

_**Yui: Only me and Kazi!**_

_**AmyNChan: er... I hope you enjoy! *^_^***_

Mai was exhausted by the time the work day finally ended. Yui had wanted to get into anything and everything. Kazi would _not_ stay away from the stove every time she went into the kitchen. Between worrying for the two of them and chasing Yui all over the place and stressing that perhaps all of the commotion would be bothering Naru—she knew they were tentative friends, but was not willing to test how far such a friendship would go—she felt as though she were about ready to pull her hair out.

"Yui, Kazi, we're going to leave after I make Naru a cup of tea," Mai called out, feeling drained yet willing to give a cup of tea as a thank-you for continuing helping Kazi out. The two children remained seated on the couch—where Kazi had been trying to interest his sister in the book he had been reading since he got it from Naru's office—while Mai stood. She made her way to the kitchen and pulled out the kettle. Somehow, the act of filling it up with water took some of the stress off of her shoulders.

She felt rather than heard Naru approach. She was too tired to tense up and the water was already at a boil. She spooned in a few herbs as per usual.

"You don't really leave your office," Mai observed. Naru did not say anything, but she knew he had not left. She would have heard him. Her hearing had somehow doubled in ability within the past week. "What's the special occasion?"

"Well, you _are _making tea of your own accord," Naru said. Mai chuckled at the lame attempt of a joke. It was two seconds later that she realized it was not a joke. She gulped before he decided to continue. "Madoka and Lin were hoping to steal the children tonight."

Mai whirled around, panic evident in her eyes. Who was stealing— Oh, Lin-san and Madoka? She frowned after she calmed down from her initial scare.

"Lin-san and Madoka have an apartment?" she asked curiously. Naru nodded in response. Mai took in the information quietly. "Do they have charms? What about clothes? The kids only have a couple of outfits, and they're all back at my apartment. And what about—"

"Mai, calm down," Naru said as he entered the room. "I think Madoka wants to spoil them a little bit, and she knows how to take care of children. They can't take care of them all the time, but it was agreed that you need a break."

"A break…?" Mai repeated, the idea sinking in. If she were completely honest, she had not had a proper period of rest in a very long while, since long before the children had come into her life. She wanted to take it, but… "It's really sweet, and tell them I said that, but—"

"There's no 'buts' in this one, Mai," Naru explained. He was now right in front of her, his blue eyes piercing deep down into her very being. They were intense and were communicating something. Something Mai wondered if she were deciphering correctly. With this man, she barely knew sometimes. "You're doing a great job with them, but you're putting more stress on yourself. Before you know it, you won't be any use to yourself or to them."

"It's called 'responsibility', Naru! I thought you knew that," Mai scowled as she whirled away from him, putting the final touches on his tea. She had been responsible for herself for a fairly long time, and now she was responsible for these two children. She did not have much time for herself, much less time for a break. She had been working hard for herself since before SPR came together and since it had disbanded. She had been doing just fine…

Mai was brought out of her thoughts by the feeling of something cool resting upon the top of her hand. It guided her to pour the tea out into two cups—which she specifically did not remember pulling out—and replace the teapot on the stove. Mai blinked at the long pale fingers that covered her own. They were warm.

"You think I don't understand the importance of responsibility? I own a company, Mai. I sift through case files and it's up to me to decide what is best for each person who seeks help. I run a team that throws itself into danger every time we're called out and it's my job to ensure that everyone makes it out alive and as unharmed as possible. I understand that other people need to be cared for first, but if you don't take care of yourself, who is going to take care of them?" Naru asked rhetorically. Mai sat still for a moment, drinking in his words. Then, a thought struck her. A funny thought. She began to chuckle.

"Sounds like something I'd tell you," she admitted as she laughed. "'Take care of yourself for everyone around you' or something."

As Mai continued to chuckle at the irony of it all, she began to wonder when she had gotten too grown up to take her own advice. She began to wonder when it was that she had let life bog her down so much that she could not have a simple day to relax and enjoy herself. She began to wonder when it was that she let herself be told she was not _allowed_ to have some time to relax because there were bills to pay and a mouth (now three!) to feed. If you were not living a life, then what were you working for?

Naru counted an internal success as he watched the cycle of Mai make yet another complete round. Now it was time for the rest of the plan.

"Mai, there is a small café down the road where I take dinner. Would you care to join me?"

* * *

"Madoka and Lin-san are good people I know very well," Mai told the children as she and Naru were dropping them off. "So _don't run off_. I don't know if I could handle that again, okay?"

"Yes, mom," said Yui. She and Kazi were standing in the door of Lin-san and Madoka's apartment, waving goodbye. Mai had a good feeling about this. She was leaving the children in very good hands.

"And don't forget I'll see you both in the office tomorrow morning, okay? Make sure you're on your best behavior, all right?" she asked. Yui and Kazi both nodded. Mai smiled as she turned to leave with Naru. A break would be—

"Oof!" Mai said as something impacted the back of her legs. She looked down to find Kazi latched onto her, holding tightly. Mai shifted around a little bit. "Kazi, I can't go if you keep holding onto me like that."

He held her tighter. Mai sighed and reached her arms down for the young boy. Despite being five and actually quite heavy, she picked him up and situated him on her hip. "Kazi, I'll come back. And Lin-san and Madoka made some dishes from England for you guys to try. I think it was called **mm-aish**? Won't that be fun?"

Kazi nodded his head and drew back from the hug. Mai set the boy on the ground and took the chance to muss with his hair a little bit. An attempt to lift the boy's spirits. The child grinned and ran back inside of Lin-san and Madoka's apartment. He held onto his sister's hand and watched as Mai and Naru left the premises.

"Hey, Naru…" Mai asked. Her compatriot gave a noncommittal noise of acknowledgement. Mai shook her head. "Never mind."

They could talk about Kazi speaking in her mind later.

* * *

Mai looked around the small café. It was cozy, small, and the perfect temperature. She shed her jacket onto the back of the chair Naru had led her to. She looked everywhere and anywhere, taking in the small place. There were chairs and tables that were in the open, yet each one gave a feeling of privacy. Music played at a barely audible level overhead. The entire area smelled of coffee and sandwiches.

Mai loved it instantly.

"You come here on a regular basis?" she asked. Even though the place was inviting and warm—something Naru did not seem to be—she could imagine him here if he ever gave himself a day off, reading a book and sipping on some tea.

"I discovered it two days ago after having to leave the last café," Naru stated. Mai turned her head towards him, interested on how a quiet narcissist like himself could possibly be kicked out of a restaurant. An elderly waitress came by and asked what the duo would care to drink. Naru ordered chamomile tea while Mai asked for a cup of coffee. Naru raised an eyebrow.

"If I get any tea I might fall asleep," she explained. He nodded in response. She watched him for a moment before reaching out and poking his sleeved arm. "Why'd you have to leave the last café?"

"For reasons that I won't encounter here," he answered cryptically. A frown flew onto Mai's face at hearing such an indirect answer.

"No fair…" she pouted. All she received in response was that dangerous smirk of his. "Can't I get a straight answer?"

"That depends," Naru returned, though he said no more on what it depended _on_. Mai ran her eyes over her boss. Her friend. He was still handsome. He still had those blue eyes, though they seemed less chilled than the last time she had seen him. He still wore black, but Mai secretly wondered if it were because he liked the color or if he were still thinking of his brother. His shoulders were broad and for some reason that fact made her feel warm inside. And that frigging smirk…

"If you take a picture it'll last longer," Naru stated, though Mai could have sworn he were actually _joking_ this time. She blinked. Then scowled.

"All right, hotshot," she said, thinking of another question to ask him. Something that wouldn't relate to the mysteries they had been piling up since the day before his arrival. She thought of something. "What have you been doing the past few years? More study?"

Naru rose an eyebrow and for a moment Mai wondered if she would actually get an answer to her attempt at small talk. She wondered how this friendship was going to work without—

"I finished my degree a year after I returned to England and have done a bit of teaching in the States," he admitted. Mai's eyes widened. He was actually telling her! "Two years of travelling between England and New York told me that I was not built for America, despite it being the place of my childhood. Quite possibly because of it."

"Did you have bad memories there?" Mai asked curiously. Naru glanced at her face for a moment, scanning it for something. The girl felt as though she were being examined for something as the waitress returned and set their drinks on the table. Mai thanked her as Naru took a drink of his tea.

"I did not belong there anymore," he finally said. "It's true that I've been assisting their police on the occasional missing persons case, usually those of high profile, and I was in New York often enough to require an apartment, yet I do not belong there. I resigned from my teaching post in New York University almost two months ago in preparation for returning to Japan."

"So… what happened between getting your degree and teaching?" Mai pondered aloud. Oliver had been gone four years, not three. There was a year unaccounted for. However, the smirk on his face indicated such information would come at a price.

"What happened between Madoka's leaving and my return?" he asked in return. Mai's expression became that of surprise.

"You kept tabs?" she asked. Naru nodded.

"When the company did not expand in two years' time, the decision to continue the work of the Japanese branch was taken from my hands. The higher executives shut the project down as quickly as they could—which was not easy for them. I was still in control of the office and checked in on everyone who worked there, I simply made sure my name never showed up on the paperwork," he explained. Mai took a moment to take it all in. She had been absolutely certain that this man had gotten up, walked away, and forgotten everything that they had become as a team. She had been sure that once his objective was complete, he would have cleaned his hands of the whole ordeal. She thought it was _Madoka's_ efforts that kept SPR running those two years.

She felt like a fool.

"What happened to you after SPR closed?" he asked again. "You mentioned a business major during the case. Have you completed it?"

Though impressed that he would remember a detail such as that, Mai decided to answer his query in a calm manner.

"Almost. I took a few extra classes on the side that slowed me down, but I feel a bit more well-rounded because of it," Mai admitted. "Some of the professors don't like me—not just me in particular, but women in the business field in general—but I get by okay in their classes. I'm set to graduate from the program after this next semester if all goes well."

"I see. What are you hoping to accomplish with that degree?" he asked. To his confusion, Mai shook her head and attempted to turn the tables back on him.

"Uh-uh, you still haven't told me what you did during that year, remember?" she told him. Although he could remember telling her—quite plainly—what he had been doing, he supposed he could humor her. Or tease her. Decisions, decisions.

"Is your memory that short?" he finally decided to ask. As predicted, Mai shot him a nasty glare. In a moment, he saw the girl he knew four years ago. Unknowing of the paranormal world, a simple high schooler, a girl with one heck of a temper, a girl who refused to take crap from anyone—including him! A girl who he had dedicated a few years of his life to just to ensure she would be provided for.

Not that he would tell her.

"Of course it's not! Jeesh! You haven't told me anything other than you were watching the Japanese…" Naru watched as Mai trailed off in her sentence. It took her a grand total of three seconds to connect the dots. "You were running the branch the whole time… Even while you went to school…"

Seeing no need to answer verbally, Naru nodded. Mai rested her head in the palm of her hand. Naru raised an eyebrow at her display.

"Once you have your business degree, what are you planning on doing with it?" he asked, returning to his original question. Mai did not raise her head from her palms, but rather raised her other hand to assist the first in hiding her face. Her reaction gave Naru an idea to potentially embarrass her and get her to come out of hiding. "Don't tell me you were planning on opening a night club."

"Naru!" she groaned, opening her hands slightly so she could pin a glare on him. He smirked, though she did not seem to notice. "Tell me you don't think I'd actually open a night club… I don't wanna deal with half-drunk men throwing up all over the property or lawsuits about who came or left with who or property damages or trying to keep up on the latest music to make sure everything is normal or…"

She noticed him smirking and frowned. She moved her hands out of the way so she could stick out her tongue.

"Ha ha, very funny," she said. She moved her hands to her coffee and took a slight drink. When she put it down, she did not have enough courage to look him in the eye. "My plan was to get a degree and open a small business here, right where SPR was. Start small and work until we could get something going. I've even been saving up for it and keeping my own skills sharp so I could get back in the business no problem."

A ghost hunting business. Mai had wanted to open her own ghost hunting business. Naru was not sure what he felt. Pride? He knew pride. Knew it for himself. This was him being proud of Mai. Of her dream and ambition. Also a tinge of sadness. She would have moved on without him. Whether she would have been good or not would have been left to be seen.

"And now?" he asked cautiously. "Will you still make your own business or do you want to stay with SPR?"

Mai's voice deserted her. She had been so busy that she had not quite thought about it. She wanted to finish the degree she had started, but what then? Would she and Naru become business rivals? Partners? Would she remain his assistant? What did she want to do with her life now that she had a plan? Her heart thudded strangely in her chest. Strangely, loudly, and convincingly.

"I know what I _want_, but I'm not sure if it's _good_ for me…" she finally admitted. Before Naru could ask what that was, the waitress came by with his usual meal and something for Mai to eat. She blinked and looked up at the waitress, who gave the girl a wink.

"We usually know what our customers will like. Take this young man. He came in once and we gave him a helping of beef ramen without asking him. He keeps coming back. If you don't like it, we'll go to plan B," the woman informed as she placed a small bowl in front of her. Mai looked over the curry. It was very cute and had rice in the form of a polar bear swimming in the food. It was absolutely adorable.

"Thank you for the food," she said honestly before breaking apart her chopsticks. She took a bite of the meal and her eyes instantly lit up. A smile crossed her face and the relaxation was evident in her posture. As she ate Naru did as well. He, too, was able to relax as he partook in his meal. The waitress smiled as she walked off.

"Twenty-three and counting," the waitress smiled to the cook. They both wore matching rings as the cook allowed himself a cheeky grin.

"We are good."

* * *

"Thanks for taking me to the café, Naru. It was really good," Mai smiled as she and Naru walked. The air was crisp and clean and the coffee was beginning to wear off on Mai. They had discussed the past and what the other had been up to. The topic of business did not come up again and Mai learned more about Naru in two hours than she had in two years.

Like the fact that he had always preferred dark colors over lighter ones. Not as a morbid thought, but as a fact. He had always felt more comfortable in them. That he liked English and Japanese food, but he could and would forevermore live without American grease. That his time in New York was mostly spent in the classroom or in his apartment, where he often did research on strange things his students had said, proving or disproving them in scientific manners. That he had a tendency to chew carefully before he spoke of anything (as opposed to her blurting out whatever came to her mind whenever it came to her mind). That he was an introvert to the highest extreme and even went to the lengths of labelling people as pumpkins and non-pumpkins.

That had been fun to figure out.

"It seemed to be a place you might enjoy," Naru stated. His coat was wrapped around his form tightly and he walked to Mai's right, keeping her away from the street. "It is also quiet and out of the way."

"A kind of place you would definitely enjoy," Mai observed. When he turned to face her, her face was already adorned with a heartfelt smile. He could feel his own face melting to match her expression. Her warmth was truly contagious.

They continued to walk in comfortable silence until they reached Mai's apartment. It was situated on the third floor, which assured Naru she would not get any break-ins. He felt slightly better about her safety when he noted the charms on the interior of her door. They were not written on paper, but rather on the interior of the door. The letters were small, but legible.

"Ayako made those for me when I moved in here," Mai told him. She had noticed that he had not left when she had opened the door to put her coat away. "She said she didn't want to wake up to a world where I was at risk for being possessed or something. Since I'm somewhat susceptible to it, I told her it was okay as long as Gene could get through."

A silence followed Mai's acknowledgement. She looked at Naru to see that he was no longer actually looking at the charm. His eyes were in the correct position, but she could tell he was thinking. "Mai…"

"Yeah?" she asked. She walked to the frame of the door, away from her coat on the table. Naru said nothing as she approached him, stopping only six inches from his person. She waited for him to speak, but still he did not say a word. His eyes—at long last—drifted to find hers. They were searching her for something, and Mai had no idea if what he was looking for was good or bad.

"Get some rest, you need it." And with that sentence, he took a step backward and began to leave. Mai could not describe the feeling of falling off a small cliff that came with every step he took away from her.

"Naru!" she almost shouted, causing him to halt. Her courage faltered and she realized she had left the warmth of her apartment. She felt alone and cold and a little lost. What should she say to him? Could she tell him that she still loved him? Could she put herself on the line like that?

No, not yet. But she did have something to tell him.

"Thank you," she finally whispered when he did not turn around. "For coming back."

That got him to turn around. His eyes were a type of emotion she could not completely describe. Not without getting lost in those sapphire orbs. He took a few steps toward her. Her heart thudded in her chest once more. When he was right in front of her, she felt as though she would stop breathing at any moment. With all the courage she could muster, she moved to gaze into Naru's eyes, rather than the buttons on his coat.

He then leaned down so his lips were beside her ear, his breath tickling at the hairs on the nape of her neck. When he had said his piece, he withdrew from her side and gave her a slight nudge to go into her own apartment. She went inside without a fuss and allowed Naru to shut the door behind him as he left. She spent the remainder of the evening caught between girlish glee and womanly worries. Gleeful of his words and giddy of how close he had been to her, worried over the effect he seemed to have on her and what that would mean for her life.

She eventually went to sleep with his words on repeat in her mind.

"_I will always come back for you, Mai…"_

* * *

Eugene wondered how long it would take Mai to realize she had astral projected again. She was currently sitting on the ground, her eyes somewhat vacant and the goofiest grin on her face. It made him wish he had a camera for a moment. Perhaps with video, so he could capture the way her face would turn brilliant red and then cool down to its normal color before flushing again. When she finally put her face into her hands, he figured it was time to enlighten her.

"Looks like Noll finally took you on a date," he said slyly, the grin he had been wearing for the past few minutes now finally being noticed by his company. Good news: Mai finally noticed where she was. Bad news: She was now hiding, making it more difficult for him to get the details.

"Gene, when did you get there?" she whined, her bright red ears showing through her short brown hair.

"Spiritual Plane to Mai, you got here fifteen minutes ago and you've been switching between giggling, sighing, freaking out, hiding, and gazing into the distance. It's a cross between hilarious and kind of creepy, actually," Gene tacked on as an afterthought. It was true. While he was excited to see his brother interested in Mai—which _had_ to be right, given her reactions—he was also wondering when he would get his friend back. They had things to do, you know.

"Sorry for being creepy, I'm just trying to figure out your brother," Mai pouted, finally lowering her hands. "You knew he was coming back and you didn't warn me, and then he goes around and asks me to come back, and he's actually talking to me, and he's being really nice, and when he told me to call him Naru it sounded like he wants to be friends—which is great, because I can't imagine a life where Naru isn't at least my friend—but I don't know how far that's going to go and I don't know if it's worth risking my heart again and I still really like him but I'm a woman now and I have more on the line than just my heart and I don't know—"

"What to do?" Gene interjected. Mai's response was to nod viciously and put her head back into her hands. She released the most unladylike groan of distress Gene had ever heard—which was saying something because there were lots of times his friend had released unladylike groans of frustration. He chuckled at her antics. "For Noll, just take it slow and see where it leads. I'm pretty sure he still likes you, he's just being careful. But for now, we have stuff to do."

"Stuff?" Mai asked, completely distracted. Upon seeing Gene's look of skepticism—which transported Mai back to the early days of SPR and Naru's sarcastic _are-you-serious_ looks—her mind clicked. "Seriously? That's tonight?!"

"Yup," Gene returned, walking away and then turning to face the girl. He was twenty paces from her position. "You ready for this?"

Mai only gave a nod before they began.

_**AmyNChan: ugggg, Naru was so OOC... But.. I think it's true. He doesn't really leave her be, at least, not in the cannon.**_

_**Naru: The information on my life was supplied by Akumu No Sumu Ie, which has facts that Chan-san is attempting to adhere to.**_

_**AmyNChan: Aw, thanks, Na-**_

**_Naru: I never said you were doing a good job of it._**

**_AmyNChan: *fumes*_**

**_Kazi: *holds up a sign, asking you all to pretty please read and review*_**


	17. Of Training and Reunions

_**AmyNChan: Ehe… so… guys… *ducks from the things thrown at me***_

_**Naru: You shouldn't have left this story be for so long. Then your readers—the ones who could be reading something better than this—would not be angry.**_

_**AmyNChan: I have a life, tooooooo! *fleeing***_

_**Mai: *watches* Shouldn't we help her?**_

_**Naru: No. She was an idiot to get herself into this position in the first place.**_

_**Mai: That's harsh…**_

_**AmyNChan: I DON'T OWN GHOST HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNT!**_

"I have to say, Mai, you're getting pretty good at this," Gene said as he tossed it back to Mai. The girl caught it easily, weaving it between her fingers for a moment before the substance became too hot for her to handle. She returned the volley to her instructor, who remained pleased with her progress.

"You really think so?" she asked with a smile, her brow beading in sweat from the effort and heat. She watched, fascinated, as the professional did his work. The material seemed to glide over his fingertips, bending to his will. He tossed it high into the air, where it burst harmlessly and showered the balls of light with sparkles of energy. A few of the orbs even vanished right then and there, having gotten enough energy to finally take a step towards the light. Mai frowned.

"Hey, I was ready for another one!" she complained. Her teacher chuckled as he gave an obvious look at her. She was trembling slightly from the effort and the sweat from the top of her forehead to the nape of her neck were the least of her problems. She looked as though she were about to fall at any given moment. Perhaps it was time to teach her how to _absorb_ it rather than simply repel and redirect.

"We need to meditate and cool down, you look dead on your feet," Gene pointed out. The girl huffed at his choice of words and the feeling that he was cutting her lesson early, but complied with his demands. The last time she had not done so in regards to these lessons had left her bedridden for two weeks. It had scared Ayako to death, but Mai always stuck to her cover story of pneumonia and promised that it would never happen again.

It was a promise Mai intended to keep. With this in mind, she took up a position that would allow her to stretch—for some it was sitting with their legs folded, for her it happened to be bending over backwards to create a bridge with her back—and cleared her mind. She concentrated on the beating of her heart and the feeling of her limbs as they began to release their tension. As the tension disappeared, she lowered herself to the ground, eventually finding herself lying on her back with her eyes closed.

"Mai, tell me what you felt this time," Gene told her. They had done this type of discussion before. Almost always the same thing.

"It felt warm in my hands, but it got too hot too quickly before I could do anything with it," she responded, not opening her eyes. She concentrated on the beating of her heart and the breath in her lungs.

"Do you remember why that is?" he asked. When Gene had started with these questions, she had responded with nonverbal cues. Now, however, she knew that she had to explain whatever was going on with her during these lessons verbally, in case something important happened that either of them had missed.

"We're on the same wavelength, but it doesn't mean our energies are compatible. We're so similar that we almost repel each other," she answered. Gene nodded. She knew and it would not take her long to figure out that— "And it's almost like your energy was harder for me to handle this time. It got hotter a lot more quickly and I had to let it go faster, too."

"Why do you think that is?" he asked. Mai grit her teeth. Naru wanted to know why she was suddenly so great at using logic and thinking between the lines? _This guy_ never gave her a straight answer and made her work for everything, that was why! She took a breath and thought about it. Energies repelled when they were too similar. They attracted when they were like corresponding pieces of a puzzle, strengths matching weaknesses and the like.

"It's getting harder because my energy is becoming more like yours?" she asked, opening one eye to see if she could gather any sort of visual cues from Gene. His smiling face was enough of an answer for her. She exhaled sharply. "That means we won't be able to practice any more at this rate…"

"Exactly, which is why I think you need to learn some important things to do with the energy before I start giving you third degree burns or something just as bad," Gene stated seriously. Both of Mai's eyes opened. She knew enough to where she would not be killed if she were around Naru when he blasted; she even had learned the ability to siphon some of his energy away and redirect it to someplace else in case he was letting too much go to return it easily, like in a firework as Gene had just done a few moments ago. While Gene's energy was miniscule in comparison to Naru's—he had made that very clear when they had started—it was still good to practice what to do with such energy should a need arise.

"Like what? And I thought we were finishing up?" she asked, indicating her posture on the ground. Honestly, she did not want to get up right now, but Gene was right. She would not always be in the middle of an open field, a safe place to dispose of the energy herself, and there may come some occurrences that required her to get rid of the energy peacefully, such as if Naru had been knocked unconscious or the threat had been already removed before they could get to it.

"Honestly, I don't have to lob little energy balls at you for you to understand this one like we did when you first started," he laughed. Mai grimaced, remembering the torture of energy ball after energy ball being tossed her way, being unable to catch a single one without her fingers burning. She finally got the hang of it after Gene crossed over for the first time and crossed back. Now he could cross over again any time he wanted, but the next time he would have to stay in Heaven.

"Then what do we do?" asked Mai. She _really_ did not want to get up. To her surprise—and relief—Gene decided to sit down next to her, indicated that she did not have to move a muscle.

_Thank Kami…_ she thought as Gene began his explanation.

"You've gotten good at releasing the energy into the air. The only way to release it peacefully is to release it slowly, which I'm sure you can do without my help," he smiled at this point, giving Mai the confidence that she could do it. "But."

Mai frowned. She almost never liked that word.

"There's one skill that you should learn. You need to be able to take energy given to you to heal yourself. You're going to do Noll no good if you pass out from being injured or because you're overwhelmed," he pointed out. Mai would like to reiterate this point: she did not like the word 'but'.

"How do I do that? Your energy is too hot for me to handle, I doubt I could absorb it," she said, pointing out the obvious. She watched as Gene shook his head. Curiosity overriding her fatigue, she decided to sit up. "Well, what does that mean?"

"You won't practice absorbing with my energy, Mai. Besides a few other concerns, I really don't have enough to spare," he admitted. Mai nodded as though she understood, but she really did not. As if understanding that her knowledge was feigned—because he knew it was—he decided to explain a bit further. "My entire existence on this plane is pure energy. Yours is, too, as a matter of fact. The small amounts of energy we've been practicing with whenever we get the chance is all I have to spare."

"You told me that you stored extra energy away until you couldn't hold it anymore, which is when we train," Mai recalled. Gene nodded, impressed with her memory.

"Right, but the amount of energy you would need to practice with is too much for me to gather over the course of a few months," he said. Mai's eyes widened. How much energy would such an act need? "So, instead of learning through application, you're just going to learn the theory of how it works and see if you can do it with Noll's energy, okay?"

"No, not okay," Mai denied, sitting straight up in the air. "You've _met_ your brother, right? He won't go through using his abilities if it'll hurt him and he most likely won't let me close enough to try and help. Last time I was there because he was pissed at that stupid ebisu."

Gene sighed. He _could_ tell her that his brother trusted her more than she trusted herself. He _could_ tell her that Noll most likely suspected something. He _could_ tell her that her training would prove very helpful probably sometime soon. But where was the fun in that?

"Do you want to run through the concept tonight or wait for next time?" he asked. Mai thought on it for a moment.

"Maybe next time. I won't even remember it if you go into lecture mode right now."

Gene chuckled at his best friend's bluntness. He waved 'bye' as she exited the Astral Plane, leaving him alone to meditate and to sleep.

* * *

Madoka awoke to the sound of pattering feet and a harsh _thud_. She looked at the clock and was surprised to see it only being five-thirty. She plopped her tired head back onto her pillow, knowing that her husband would awaken soon to do some training anyways. She turned onto her side and slid closer to him.

"Sounds like at least one of them is awake already," Koujo said. Madoka frowned.

"Is there a morning where you're _not_ awake so freaking early?" she asked. The response she got was a warm pressure to the top of her head. Rather than make her let go of him—which was the intent of the kiss—the action caused her to tuck into his chest a bit more. "I wanna cuddle…"

"Don't tempt me," he murmured, breathing in the scent of the shampoo she had used the night before. Lilac.

Madoka only hummed. Lin knew that would be trouble if he stayed where he was. With much regret, he picked himself up off of their shared futon. Madoka—seeming to favor her rest over the cuddling she wanted—turned over back into the futon, burrowing deep into her blankets. Her husband smirked. He could have a little bit of fun before he had to do his morning routine. He placed one of his arms on the other side of her face so he hung above her.

"Madoka," he murmured. He saw her attempt to resist a smile. She failed cutely. He lowered his head so his lips just barely tickled her ear. "Are you certain you don't want to join me in meditation?"

"I can meditate right here," she said. Her eyes might have been closed and her voice might have been sleepy, but Koujo knew that she was waking up. He chuckled, a deep sound that came from his chest, and bent over to give his wife a kiss. Before she could retaliate he was up, getting clothed before he could go into the front room and clear an area for meditation.

Madoka would probably get him back later for that. He supposed he would survive whatever she had in store.

* * *

The young boy fell again as he tried to move the last of the furniture. He had already moved aside the coffee table and he put the pictures safely on the ground. He moved the chairs into the kitchen and now he was stuck with the couch. He got up and pushed on it. He was surprised when the seat moved far more easily than his previous attempts.

"Is it customary for you to move the furniture of houses you sleep at?" a familiar voice asked from above. The child looked up. Above him was Uncle Lin, looking tall as ever. He tried to point at what he had been attempting to do, but after a few moments he gave up. He was never that great at charades, despite being partially dependent on the game.

"You wanted to do some early morning exercises?" Uncle Lin guessed. The boy smiled and nodded. Perhaps he was not so horrible at the game after all.

"I'm going to be meditating here, but you're welcome to use that area if you don't break anything," the tall man said, gesturing to two opposite ends of the room.

_Okay_, he thought, knowing Uncle Lin could not hear him. He felt a bit of energy pulse around his fingers and knew that he had better get started. He stood where Uncle Lin had told him to and began his breathing exercises. As he moved the air through his body, he forced his mind to be calm. His body took a mind of its own—a well structured and disciplined mind, but a mind of its own nonetheless—as he went through his morning routine. He made it through seven postures before he felt the energy in him begin to diminish. It would take four more before he would be okay for the day.

_After this, I'll help Uncle Lin put all the furniture back, I promise…_ the five-year-old boy thought as he continued his qigong exercises.

* * *

Oliver took a breath as he finished his morning routine. True, he never _liked_ getting up early in the morning to meditate and breathe, but he knew it was necessary. It was perhaps the strongest of the methods he used to keep his abilities in check. A nuisance, perhaps, but it kept him alive. He could not afford to be picky or ungrateful.

His alarm clock buzzed monotonously at six fifteen, indicating that he had done enough. He sighed as he stripped himself of his black tank top and hit the shower, now in a position where he could begin the day without worrying about excess energy flying anywhere.

As his mind began to wake up—a process that could take anywhere from ten minutes to three hours—he began to think about his plans for the next long while. He still needed to get in contact with the rest of the old SPR team in the event they would be interested in part-time employment. He also needed to finish unpacking his books into his office. He could complete that before the office opened to the public at nine. Before things got hectic again.

Though, for some reason, Oliver found himself not minding how busy the space had become. For the first few days he had spent in Japan, the office had been quiet and orderly, as he nearly always had his life. The experience had been miserable.

Now, he had Mai and the children that came with her as well as Lin and Madoka. Madoka alone could not have made the office as lively as it had become and neither could Mai. It was a combination of the two and those two kids, whose presence had become normal in the office. Oliver wondered what would happen to Mai when they found the parents of Yui and Kazi. Surely she would cry with how attached she had become to them.

The thought made his chest constrict.

By this time he was in the midst of preparing himself a breakfast. He was clean and his exercises were finished, so he allowed himself to indulge in an omelet with everything he enjoyed. Most would find it peculiar or odd, but not he. He ate his meal thinking about which of the old team he should contact first.

* * *

"…yes, that will be all. Thank you," a familiar voice stated delicately over the phone before ending the call. The woman gave a sigh of relief. She had been able to secure one extra ticket to the party she was to attend for her show. It was merely to keep up appearances, but if she called in the right person, she would be able to duck out of the festivities an hour or so earlier than planned.

Masako Hara took a moment to breathe, a moment that she had felt robbed of for the past three months. She had been at shoot after shoot, on flight after flight, for the sake of her show and the producers running it. Truth be known she was growing weary of always being taken one direction and then another. She wanted to try something different or at least take a breather, but with SPR shut down there was no company that was both credible and enjoyable to work with.

_Still, I can allow myself a few moments of freedom._ Masako looked at the time on her phone and noted that it was seven in the morning. So, rather than call her friend about the ticket, she got ready to leave her condo.

After all, there was no real reason for Mai Taniyama to be up at this hour unless she was working. In which case there would be no need to call her until noon.

* * *

Mai awoke to the sensation of sweaty bed sheets and pure exhaustion. She looked at the clock and groaned loudly when she realized that it was only seven thirty in the morning. She was not amused at the early hour, but knew from past experience that she would not get any more sleep that morning. Going to the Astral Plane had that effect on her. The only time it did not was when she was in desperate physical need of sleep, such as being woken in the middle of the night before going to the Plane.

It took her no more than half an hour to find an outfit she liked and grab a quick breakfast. She was in no mood for anything more complex than a protein bar and banana.

The walk from her apartment to the SPR building was not long at all. A mere fifteen minute stroll through the neighborhood that lightened her day and gave her some much needed extra energy. By the time arrived at the office, all worries from the Astral Plane had been cleared away and a smile was on her face. She used the key she had always kept to open the office and make her way to her desk.

"Eight sixteen…not bad," Mai said. Without much else to do, she sat at her desk and pulled out a few files she had set aside the night before.

Thoughts of said night before flooded her mind and Mai could not help herself from flushing like a schoolgirl. The conversation, the simple café, the walk home, Naru's final whisper into her ear. It all seemed so surreal…

What if it was all a dream?

Mai blinked. What if she had imagined the entire thing? But... she and Naru _had_ dropped the children off with Lin and Madoka. If that had happened, everything afterwards had also been true. Mai smiled at her conclusion. She was here in this job because of the children, so there was no way she had hallucinated them. The children were not in her apartment in the morning, and Mai would have never left them behind unattended. They were with Lin and Madoka. Everything had been real.

She had been on a date with Naru.

A giggle escaped her lips before she could stop it. Still, it seemed as though the office were empty, so she allowed it to pass. She kept the smile on her face as she continued to work silently. The more she did now the less she would have to do when the children came with Madoka and Lin.

"You're early."

Mai jumped a little at the voice that had been running around in her mind all morning. She looked up to see that her boss was standing in the doorway to his office, that smirk on his face.

"A little warning next time?" she asked. She tried desperately to remove the pink from her cheeks and return to her work. She failed at the first and somewhat succeeded at the second.

"I've been here for the past three minutes. I had thought perhaps you would have noticed, though it seems I was mistaken," Naru said.

"You could have said something."

"I did."

"That's not what I meant."

The look Naru gave her practically screamed of his amusement. She grit her teeth and focused back on her work, attempting to block him out. They were both aware of how miserably she was failing.

She decided to switch tactics.

"Thank you for dinner last night," she said. She dared not look up at him, for fear of making the red in her face that much more obvious to him. "I had a lot of fun."

"I take it you would not be opposed to going back." Naru's voice seemed a bit softer so she looked up to determine the cause. He had gone back inside his office. Why?

"Not really." Mai debated between going to see what he was doing in his office and staying right where she was. She smiled nervously. Was this an attempt to…?

Naru said something that Mai did not catch completely. When she asked for him to repeat it, he said nothing. A frown adorning her features, she continued to deal with the files, completing one before starting another. The scratching of her pen against the paper did not give her much food for thought, so she returned mentally to the conversation of the night before.

She thought of how she had spent her years and how Naru had spent his. She had tried to move on fiercely. Had tried to forget him. Had tried to date a few times. He? He had kept an eye on her. He had kept watch even when she thought she had been abandoned. That knowledge still stung a little, but Mai was at a point where she could see logic in both of their actions. It had happened, and there was nothing she could do to change either of their actions. She could not tell herself to have hope. She could not tell Naru to come back sooner.

Still…

"Naru?"

"I told you no."

"Not that, it's just that there's something I still don't understand," Mai said. But she stopped. Would asking be too much? Would it tell him just how much she had missed him and wanted him to return earlier than he had? Probably not. He could not read into those things if he tried.

Probably.

"If you were watching the branch the entire time, why didn't you come back sooner?"

The pencil Mai used on her work did not falter, and nor did her writing speed decrease. Instead, she managed to transcribe at least three more sentences before she began to truly doubt if Naru had heard her in the first place. Had she not spoken up? Spoken clearly? Was he ignoring her?

"Cowardice, I suppose."

Whatever Mai had thought she would hear, it was most certainly not that. She looked up from her work with a question on her lips when the door opened, revealing someone Mai had not seen in a long time.

It was eight forty-five.

* * *

Masako sighed as she finished her meal in the café. Eight fifty in the morning and she could see people walking to their respective jobs and going about their respective lives. It was something she was admittedly jealous of, even though she was aware of just how many women had careers. The percentage was not very impressive. She supposed she should be happy that she had such a lucrative position in the first place.

Still, she wanted more.

Masako paid her bill and left the waitress a tip. The girl had recognized her, but to Masako's pleasure she had not been pointed out or asked for an autograph. This had earned the waitress an extra amount and a courtesy note of thanks. The air around her now was brisk and cold. It was heaven to breathe.

"…ra-san!" she heard. For a moment, she contemplated ignoring it. She did not want to be recognized today. "Hara-san!"

Yet the voice was so cheerful. If it was a fan she would have crushed someone. She sighed and turned, ready to greet a person who—no doubtedly—knew her from her television series.

"Hara-san, mou, slow down! We haven't seen you in so long! Have you forgotten us?"

Masako blinked when she came face-to-face with a shot of pink hair framing the excitable face of Madoka Mori. Or—as Masako noticed—Madoka whatever her last name was now. There was a ring on her left finger.

"Mori-san…" she said. She was not surprised when the woman shook her head, a smile on her lips and a twinkle in her eye.

"Koujo and I got married last year in September," she revealed. Said man was walking calmly behind in the direction of his wife. Masako had to lift her face almost to the sky in order to exchange nonverbal pleasantries.

"I see. You have my congratulations, however, if you run across Matsuzaki-san you might find her slightly envious," she said. Masako lifted her hand to cover her smile out of habit, but a thought came across her mind before she could complete the action. "By any chance, you aren't here to open SPR again are you?"

"Is there a reason for you to ask?" Madoka's face betrayed nothing, yet Masako could easily find the hidden question. She shook her head slightly.

"Not at all. Would it be possible for me to accompany you to the office? I have some regrets I wish to clear," she said. Madoka seemed to understand the girl's intent and nodded. Masako bowed slightly in thanks.

She did not expect to see the inquisitive eyes of children staring back at her. Her eyes widened.

"Lin-san, are you babysitting for Shibuya-san?"

_**AmyNChan: *drops on the ground, waving a white flag* I give up, I'll do my best to update quickly!**_

_**Mai: Will you be able to with your classes and all?**_

_**AmyNChan: …I dunno…**_

_**Naru: *glares***_

_**AmyNChan: what…?**_

_**Mai: *sighs* Please read and review to get Amy-chan writing some more!**_


	18. New Information and Injuries

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~!**_

_**Mai: You're doing this in the middle of class?!**_

_**AmyNChan: Shh, it's fine. XD I'm doing this in a computer class while I'm watching a movie, so it's all good.**_

_**Naru: *watches as my IQ drops***_

_**AmyNChan: I heard that, Naru!**_

_**Naru: How can you hear that which I don't say?**_

_**AmyNChan: Grrrrrrr…**_

_**Mai: AmyChan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!**_

"I thought my dear and lovely Bou-san was exaggerating last night," Osamu Yasuhara said from his place at the front door. Mai grinned at a familiar face, even though she had not seen him since he had shut himself in studying for university finals. He had been in his last semester and had been torn between studying and filling out job applications for his field with his newly held doctorate.

"Oh? And what was he exaggerating about in your secret rendezvous? And won't your girlfriend mind that you're meeting up with a strange man in the dark hours of the night?" Mai asked. The tall man—now about twenty two years of age—shifted his glasses eerily. The woman had learned simply to roll with her friend's odd humor in order to not become a victim of it.

The strategy only worked about half of the time.

"Tsk, tsk, Taniyama-san—"

"_Yasu!_"

"—Mai-san—"

"Better."

"—we were simply discussing the health, welfare, and overall care of our overworked little boss," Yasuhara said. Mai knew he did not mean to look intimidating or slightly disturbed by the way he held himself or the manner with which he spoke, but part of her could not help it.

"So you've taken to talking about me behind my back? That's reassuring." Mai frowned but continued to transcribe the files from English to kanji the way she had learned in her third time taking that stupid English class. Yasuhara tsked with an air of disapproval.

"Oh, but Mai-san, you haven't let me tell you the best part yet!"

Suddenly, Mai's hands felt the tiniest bit clammy. "What's the best part?"

"The best part is—"

Yasuhara turned around when he heard the sound of the little bell above the door chime softly. Mai knew that not even his fairly observant eyes could make hide nor hair of the two blurs headed straight for her that she called 'Kazi' and 'Yui'.

"Mom! Guess who we met this morning!" the little girl exclaimed, her voice gathering the attention of all.

"I suppose I'll never know if you don't tell me," she said. She felt the young boy hovering at her side and turned to face him. He was wearing a smile and his arms were already securely around her waist. She stopped her work in order to return the hug.

"Aunt—hey? Where'd she go?"

* * *

"Hara-san." Oliver was still sorting out his reading material and collecting his thoughts from having his conversation with Mai interrupted. He had been about to admit to her why he had been afraid, but he supposed that would be for another time. A time where he could build his courage up once more.

For now, he had a slightly unwelcome intruder in his office.

"Shibuya-san." Oliver was trained to not let surprise show on his face. She was being far more formal with him than last time. He still refused to look at her and opted for placing another book on the shelf.

"Tell me, have you come to break Mai's heart again?"

That gave his actions pause. He held the book in the air for a moment before turning around to see if the woman was serious or if she seemed to take pleasure in her statement. He could confirm the first and debunk the second. Her eyes were hard as obsidian and her face was a carefully constructed porcelain mask.

"To be quite frank, that's an accusation I'd have expected from anyone else, Hara-san," he said. "Last I recall, you and Mai—"

"Don't say her name like that if you're only here to have her hurt. I won't stand for it," the girl seethed. Oliver's eyes narrowed and his grasp on the book became tighter. These were the only notable differences in his posture, both of which seemed to escape the petite girl's notice. That or she was simply ignoring them.

"As long as you insist on accusing me of something so illogical, feel free to tell me what led to this assumption," he said. "At your leisure, of course. You, after all, always had a tendency to do things your way whether those around you appreciated it or not."

"That is the past, Shibuya-san," Hara-san said. "I came with intentions to apologize for my actions, but if you are to return with children and—"

"Are you speaking about Yui and Kazi?" Oliver asked. He fought the urge to pinch his nose. He would have to clear up this ordeal. "They—"

"Don't even try to deny it. And what's worse, that little boy looks almost identical to Mai! Any one of us who remained here in Japan would have known if she were pregnant. Did you simply go home, find the first girl who reminded you of her, and—"

"Hara-san, that is quite enough!" Oliver said. His fingernails were embedded into the cover of his book and his other hand was fisted tightly enough to leave lasting marks. His eyebrows narrowed to the point of a V-formation across his forehead and his scowl would most definitely make a baby cry. One could see his breath as he continued to speak. "I would have thought you would know my integrity and the loss I was going through at the time. Even while you blackmailed me onto dates you allowed me to question if you had sensed anything new concerning my brother. I would not have done something so irrational."

"Prove it to me, Oliver Davis," Hara-san spat. The raven-haired man would have been surprised at her tone if it were not for how quickly this conversation had gotten out of control. "Prove to me that you didn't simply fly back to England and ignore the feelings of every girl you've met while you stayed here. The woman who treated you like a son after a few cases, the girl who chased you because she thought you were a real man, and especially Mai who fell in love with you and was brave enough to have her heart crushed by you. Prove it to me and to the rest of them."

Oliver said nothing as the girl showed herself to the door.

"One more thing," Hara-san said. "I will be joining you for your next case. Not for your sake, but for Mai's."

As the celebrity left his office, Oliver could not let go of the book in his hands, despite the fact that his book was severely damaged.

* * *

"Masako-san, what were you doing in Naru's office?" Mai asked. Her voice held some trepidation despite herself. She knew more than anyone that the medium had stopped in her pursuit of Naru. That had come after the girls had gotten into a huge fight over it eighteen months after his departure. Mai had let off all of her anger at him and Masako's high expectations of the Naru she had created in her head—a cold and calculated man who would grow to love her back with a love no one else would possibly understand eventually—had fallen.

It was then when their friendship had truly begun to blossom.

"Asking permission to steal you from the office tonight," she replied. Mai's expression scrunched itself into confusion. What was the day? It was not Christmas. That had passed. There were no birthdays. She could not think of what— "Mai, have you forgotten it's New Years?"

"Is it New Years already?!" Yui asked. Her loud voice drew all eyes towards her, but she seemed not to care at that particular moment. "Wait… that'll mean it's nineteen—geez, that's weird—nineteen ninety… um…"

"Seven. Who are you, little one?" Yasu asked. Now that Mai looked, he seemed almost suspicious of the children. Before she could intervene and update her grey-haired friend on the current situation—that two children who seemed to be chased by something were staying with her for a while—Yui acted.

"I'm Yui and that's Kazi!" The girl gestured to herself and to her brother while making the announcements, proud as a peacock. Mai had no idea why Masako-san seemed to have such a distaste for pride. The brunette knew that her friend often got snared in the traps that pride often set. "Tell us who you are!"

"Yui!"

"It's okay, Mai-san. They're going to be kids," Yasu said. His disarming smile and casual wave for her to stand down only caused her to sit back in her seat with a frown. Maybe after a moment of talking with the girl Yasu would see that this burst of rudeness was not exactly rare. "My name is Yasuhara Osamu, and I'm a friend of your mom's—"

"Not really their mom!"

"—so I hope we'll be good friends. Ne, Yui-chan? Kazi-kun?"

Whatever reaction Yasu had been expecting, it most certainly was not that. The young boy has practically barreled his way into the kitchen and the slamming of a few doors assured Mai that Kazi had taken temporary residence in one of the many cabinets. Yui, on the other hand, had fallen to the ground in laughter.

Mai was speechless on two accounts. The first was Kazi had never reacted in such a way towards anything. He was normally so passive and sweet. Even though he could not talk, he seemed agreeable to almost everything save cold rice. The second was Yui. The woman had never seen this child laugh so hard. The girl did not seem capable of doing anything except that at the current moment.

"I'll be back later in the afternoon for Shibuya-san's reply," Masako-san said. The door closed behind the medium before Mai could gather her wits about her long enough to say goodbye or address the sudden shift in the children's behavior.

"Did anything happen I should know about, Lin-san?" Mai asked, finally looking over to the tall couple who had remained in the lobby. Madoka shook her head, her pink hair tossing gently.

"Kazi did some exercises with Koujo this morning, but other than that everything was fine," Madoka said. She looked at her husband who offered a nod.

"Exercises?" Mai asked. "What kind of exercises?"

"It appears someone has taught the boy quigong."

"I didn't do it and I'm pretty sure Naru didn't do it."

Lin-san waved off the woman's denial. "I didn't get Noll at that level until he had been under my training for two years. Obviously neither of you could have gotten him at that level in a matter of ten days."

"So you're saying that they know someone who taught them quigong? That's good, isn't it, Lin-san?" Mai asked. "How many people know how to teach it at Kazi's level?"

Surprisingly, Lin-san's only answer was to shake his head. Mai was about to press on in her investigative query when Yasu decided to pipe up.

"Can someone tell me what's going on?"

* * *

"So I take it Mai talked to you about the testing?" Ayako asked over the phone, inspecting her nails. She was at home getting ready for work and currently waiting for her nails to dry. She had chosen a pretty maroon color in an attempt to match with her naturally vibrant hair. She had not expected a call from Naru.

"She did not."

"Oh? If you haven't talked it over with Mai then why are you asking me to do the test?" she asked. She would not search for the children's parents this way without Mai's consent.

"You misunderstand me. I'm not asking you to use the test in order to find the parents. That is Mai's decision. I am merely to have evidence that the children are not mine."

"Why? Shouldn't your word be good enough?" The red headed doctor frowned as she waited for the boss's response. When she did not hear anything on the other side of the line, she continued. "You're not usually this needy for evidence, Naru. Even on a case it was either we got it or we didn't. Why are you so eager?"

"I am not eager."

"Bullcrap," Ayako said. She took a moment to blow on her nails, hoping they would dry quickly. Handling the phone in this manner was difficult. "You called me on my cell phone and asked if I could do a DNA testing. For all you knew, I didn't have access to one. If you don't want me to hang up on you in the next ten seconds, you'll tell me what's going on."

"Hara-san is under the impression the children belong to me. I need evidence to prove otherwise."

"Uh-huh… And why didn't you just talk to Mai about this? She could have talked to Masako instead of you going through all this trouble." Ayako glanced up at the clock. Nine fifteen. She did not have to be at the hospital for another hour. She would be fine.

"Hara-san and Mai have gotten closer since I left."

"Yeah, that tends to happen when the guy you're both pining over suddenly gets up and leaves," the woman pointed out. "That's why I'm saying it would be easier just to tell Mai to talk to her about it."

"It is not a wise course of action."

"Well, I'm not doing the testing unless I have Mai's okay on it," Ayako said. "That's final. So whatever you're having a hard time talking to her about, man up and deal with it. She didn't wait so long for nothing."

"What—"

"Goodbye, Naru. I need to get to work," Ayako said as she hung up her phone. She looked at her nails and blew on them once more. They still were not dry.

* * *

"I see," Yasuhara said, stroking his chin wisely. He was going over the information he had just gathered. He turned a grin over to Mai-san, who was still at her desk. The little girl had long-since gone into the kitchen in search of her brother. "To be perfectly honest, I thought your son and Big Boss's daughter were on a playdate."

"Yasu, if I were pregnant don't you think you'd be one of the first to know?" Mai-san asked. From the glare he was receiving, the grey-haired man decided it was a tactical time to retreat. He turned to Lin-san and Madoka-san, both of whom had joined him on the couches.

"What I can't understand is if the kids are being chased by something, why hasn't anything happened to them?"

"Yasu, you sound like you want something to happen," Mai-san said. From her defensive glare, the boy knew he was in danger. Yet he continued, watching her for a reaction.

"Mai-san, think about it. It's been ten days since you got them and not one paranormal thing has happened around them."

"That's not true," Mai-san said. She stopped in her work to count on her fingers. "They show up with Gene—who happens to be a ghost—on my doorstep, Yui predicted and solved our case before I even accepted my old job back, they escaped the daycare without any outside help and Naru told me he felt some residue energy on Kazi when they sought him out in base—"

"Did the kids know where the base was?" Yasu asked.

"Of course they knew where it was!"

"Sorry, poor word choice. Did anyone on the team show the children where base was?"

Yasu watched as those in the room fell into contemplative silence. Lin-san, being one to not forget details such as that, shook his head first. Next was Madoka-san, who was probably with her husband the entire time. Last of all was Mai-san, who did not even shake her head at all. Yasu got his answer from her facial expression anyways.

"So no one took them to base?"

"I don't think they knew where it was, though," Madoka-san answered. Yasu turned to her and gestured her to keep going. "From what Mai-chan said, the children disappeared around three or so in the afternoon. Noll didn't see them until after seven. They could have gotten lost looking for base."

"Now that I think about it, their clothes were dirty when I got there," Mai-san said. "They could have gotten lost and were hiding from adults who would look for them. Not that anyone was _looking_ for them…"

Yasu had no idea why Mai-san's tone had taken a somewhat edgy turn, but he supposed that for his own safety and sanity he would not touch it. Madoka-san's sympathetic smile seemed to calm her down, though.

"But think about it. Nothing's happened to them. They were out of the charms for hours then and nothing found them. Mai-san, your barriers haven't been touched at home, right? No scratch marks or scuffs?"

"They're as new as the day Ayako put them on," Mai-san said. Yasu smiled and his glasses reflected the light just enough to mask his eyes.

"The kids aren't being followed by anything paranormal. Those seals would be at least a little damaged if something was attacking them and they would have been hurt if they weren't protected for any length of time."

"So, why won't they tell us who their parents are? Or their names?" Mai-san asked.

Yasu could not answer her. The ideas he had were far too radical. He would need to bring in some other broad-minded thinkers to help him riddle it out.

* * *

"Kazi? Come on, don't be mad!" the little girl said. She pulled open every cupboard and cabinet she could find. She looked high and low. "Come on, it was funny! Can you at least talk to me?"

Her brother stubbornly refused to communicate. She huffed a big breath of air out of her lungs.

"You laughed at me when you told me to call me Yui. You only brought it on yourself!" she said. She went to the cabinet under the sink again and opened it. As expected, her brother was not there. "Kazi, this isn't funny anymore! Come out!"

_No._

"Oh, now you talk to me!" she groaned. And it had to be too short to tell where it was coming from. "It wasn't even him, it was Uncle Yasu!"

_Don't._

"Don't what? You're gonna have to say more than that." The five year old girl stood on her toes and looked onto the counter. She looked up at the cabinets out of her reach. She wondered…

_Don't say 'Uncle Yasu'._

"You won't let me call daddy 'daddy' and now you won't let me call Uncle Yasu 'Uncle Yasu'? Why not?" she demanded.

_The adults are—_

"Found ya!" she cried out with an air of victory, barely on the counter when she flung the door to her brother's hiding spot open. She saw his eyes open wide and his mouth open wider. She saw his hand reach out to catch her as she slipped off the countertop. She felt his energy wrap around her head before she saw him start to fall out of the cabinet.

She screamed as loudly as she could before her head hurt.

* * *

"The ambulance should be here pretty soon," Yasuhara said. Oliver nodded, not having the energy to do anything more than sit at the head of both children. He had come out as soon as he had heard Yui screaming—she sounded so much like Mai that he had thought it was her for a brief, terrifying moment. Kazi had been on a collision course with the sharp edge of the countertop and would have been more severely injured if the ebony-haired man had not taken action from his place at the doorway.

"Good, tell Lin how close they are and then help Madoka look into what we should be doing for unconscious children with head injuries, if anything more than what we already have," the boss ordered. Yasuhara nodded before going to complete his task.

"I should have kept an eye on them…" Mai said. Her hands were trembling, but she, too, sat near the children. As if being nearby would reassure her somehow that the children would turn out all right. "I shouldn't have let them both into the kitchen by themselves…"

"Mai, I need you to be calm right now," Oliver said. "You won't be able to help them if we have to sedate you."

"They won't do that," Mai said. Still, she did not meet Oliver's eyes. She sat so closely to the children, yet the man noticed she was not touching them. Probably the best thing to do medically, but it was not a Mai thing to do.

Was she afraid to touch the children?

"Mai, breathe."

"I should have been in here with them. I thought Kazi hid in one of the lower cabinets…"

"Why was he hiding?" Oliver asked. He had no plan on how to keep Mai from crying, but talking seemed to be getting her further from that point.

"Yasu said 'Kazi-kun' and he just ran for the kitchen."

"So Yui went after him."

"No, she was too busy laughing."

"I didn't think that child was capable of laughter. I thought all she knew how to do was talk like a lawyer and budge as far as a boulder."

Somehow, his honest view had gotten a chuckle out of Mai. "Yeah, that's her all right. Sounds a lot like you sometimes."

"Are you implying I'm incapable of change?" Oliver had not meant for the question to come across as accusatory, but it somehow did. Images of the night before flashed into his mind. He cursed himself mentally. Now was not the time to talk about this.

"Not incapable of change, just very stubborn," Mai said. She seemed to have noticed where he had thought the conversation was going. He allowed the shift to happen.

"As are you. But you're also kind."

Oliver did not know what Mai would have said next. The door to the office opened, bringing in the paramedics and the tall Chinese man leading the way. The young man would have stood, but he still did not have the energy to do so. Instead, Mai did.

"They were out of our sights for only a few moments. They were in the cupboard and—"

"Are you their mother?" the man asked. His companions were already looking at the children and deciding how best to move them. Both of the children had gauze around their heads. Yui's was already bleeding through while Kazi's appeared white from the front.

"She's their current caretaker. We've been trying to contact their parents for the better part of two weeks," Oliver intervened from his position on the ground. He tried not to think about how heavy his limbs were or how strained his muscles were when he rose. He only felt better when Mai offered him a hand.

Somehow, her mere touch was warding away the after effects of his PK.

Had to be either the increase of adrenaline or serotonin. Either could increase mood or feelings of physical well-being.

"Sir, ma'am, we need you to come with us. We need to ask you both a few questions about what happened."

_**AmyNChan: And without further ado…**_

_**Naru: Now might be an excellent time for your plan of escape.**_

_**AmyNChan: Why are you taking the good ideas for yourself?!**_

_**Mai: he does that.**_

_**AmyNChan: Yeah… XD Anyhoot, hope ya'll enjoyed and I'll try to get a new chapter up later~! *^_^***_

_***flees***_


	19. Of Bonds

_**AmyNChan: This one came faster to me so it comes faster to you~! *^_^***_

_**Naru: You're saying that because you don't want your readers to be angry with you for long.**_

_**AmyNChan: eep! o.o**_

_**Mai: Ne, ne, can we tell them about the thing at the end of the chapter?**_

_**AmyNChan: Sure~! *^_^***_

_**Mai: Cool! Until we unveil the thing, just know AmyChan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!**_

_**AmyNChan: Nope~! *^_^***_

"We were talking in the other room. Kazi had run off and after Yui was done laughing about it she went to look for him. I didn't really think anything of it because they're around the office all the time—"

"What is this business?" the paramedic asked. Mai looked at her fingers.

"We investigate supernatural phenomena. Anything that goes bump in the night, pretty much," she said. She made an effort to straighten her shoulders and look the paramedic in the eye, yet the best she could manage was to notice the mole on the left side of the paramedic's face was blaringly obvious.

"Continue," the paramedic said.

* * *

"I heard Yui screaming from my office. I came out to see what was wrong. Yui was already on the ground and Kazi's head was about to hit the edge of the counter," Oliver explained. The paramedic questioning him wrote it down.

"Given that the skin of his forehead isn't cut, I'd assume that didn't happen," the paramedic said. Oliver gave a curt nod, but the paramedic gestured for him to explain in his own words.

"I managed to prevent Kazi's head from impacting the counter, but he slipped and landed on the ground. That's when our associate, Lin Madoka, called."

"Does this incident have anything to do with your fatigue?"

_Damn_.

"It does, but I assure you I will be fine in a few hours." Oliver knew by the look on the paramedic's face that this had been the wrong thing to say. His mind went over the possibilities quickly before arriving at one.

"Sir, we may have to take a blood test from you to assure the safety of the children. Surely you can understand," the paramedic said. He closed the notepad he had been writing in and gestured to the back of the ambulance which housed Kazi. Oliver nodded in agreement and got into the back of the van.

Trust the paramedics to think one was using drugs if you said the wrong thing.

* * *

Shun was the pediatric assigned to ask the woman—Mai—a few questions about how the children had come to be in this state. Matters such as these were always taken seriously when children were involved. The pediatric looked over the woman's shoulder to see that the adult male was being led into the ambulance.

That indicated further testing was necessary.

"Ma'am, we need you to come with us for blood testing," Shun said, mentally preparing for the woman to run. Surprisingly, for Shun at least, the woman was most cooperative.

"If you think that'll help…" she said. Shun led her into the back of the ambulance carrying the little girl—Yui. With that, the ambulances were off, and Shun set about making sure the patient did not have lasting head trauma.

* * *

Ayako looked at the clip board in front of her. Two children with possible head trauma and two adults suspected of drug use. She let out a harsh breath. People using drugs illegally or for recreation should not be given charge over kids. She looked to her team.

"I want to make sure those kids are going to be all right. Once you've looked at their head injuries, separate them and send in a professional to ask them about their caretakers. You're gonna take the blood samples from the adults with me and run them through immediate testing. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am," the team of five responded. Ayako watched as the ambulances arrived. The back door opened and the first person out of it was—

"Ayako?" Mai asked as she hopped out of the ambulance. The girl moved out of the way as Yui was brought through on a stretcher. Ayako broke her gaze from her friend to wave two of the team away. They dutifully departed and followed the black-clothed girl.

"Mai, would you kindly like to explain to me that I have a chart telling me that we have two adults suspected of drug abuse and I get you?" Ayako asked. She watched as the girl's eyes widened and she began to move to defend herself. That was when the second ambulance arrived. Ayako was not nearly as surprised when Naru stepped from this ambulance. Ayako waited until Kazi was removed from the ambulance and waved off two more of her staff.

"You two, follow me," Ayako ordered. As opposed to when they were on a case, Naru listened to her demand. The red-headed medic was grateful for that as she led the two into the hospital and a separate room where she and her help—a middle-aged man by the name of Hiroshi—sat Naru and Mai back-to-back on a hospital bed and began blood work.

"What did you mean by 'drugs', Ayako?" Mai asked. Ayako knew of Mai's aversion of needles so she answered the girl as she began to draw the blood in order to distract her.

"Something in either of your guys' behaviors caused the EMTs to worry about the safety of the children," Ayako answered. She looked from Mai to Naru and back to Mai again. "If anything, it might have been Naru. He looks like he's been through hell and back."

"That tends to happen," Naru said. Mai shot the boy a glare.

"You're not supposed to do that! You could have been hurt!"

"It was either this or allow Kazi to collide with the edge of the counter. I can deal with the after effects of my PK so long as I don't do anything grandiose," Naru said. Ayako knew that the decrease in temperature was not of the hospital's doing, but of Naru's. "Given that I protected Kazi from becoming any more injured than he was going to be, I don't hear a lot of gratitude, Mai."

"Take these to the testing lab. Put them through the full spectrum," Ayako instructed Hiroshi, giving him the vial of Mai's blood. Hiroshi nodded before leaving with both vials. Ayako turned to the duo. "Yui and Kazi are going to be interrogated on how you've been caring for them, Mai. I know you guys have been doing a great job, but they might test the kids, too."

"So their blood is going to get tested with ours?" Mai asked.

"No. Each sample will be tested individually. There won't be any drugs because I know you two don't take anything like that. I'm your primary physician and honestly I don't think you'd do anything that stupid," Ayako answered, looking at both Mai and Naru in turn. "The kids are probably going to stay here under observation for a while. At least until the results come back."

"What about the two of us?" Naru asked. Ayako shrugged off how cold he was being. To her, he was just being normal Naru.

"They'll talk to you about when you can leave and how you guys are gonna pay and that's it," Ayako said. She cast a sad look at Mai. "And I'm sorry, but it's very likely that they won't let you see them until you leave."

"But…"

"Look at it from our standpoint, Mai. If you really were an abusive or negligent caretaker, would the kids even want to see them?"

"What if we sat in a room and just watched what the kids would do?"

"Hmm… I don't—"

"Matsuzaki-sensei!" Hiroshi said. Ayako turned to find her doctor in a deliberate mess. Her eyes narrowed on him. "We were trying to draw blood from the kids when the equipment went crazy. Itsuki-san and Kyou-san are both bleeding."

Ayako rose and left the room without another word. She had to get the situation under control.

* * *

"We have to move the children!"

He felt so scared.

"We can't even touch them!"

Where was he? Where was mommy? And father? Where was his sister? He could not hear her.

"Stay back!"

"But the children!"

Where was his friends? Where was his family? Where was he?

"What's going on?"

_Aunt Aya!_

"We tried to draw blood from the boy but everything started going crazy."

"Matsuzaki-sensei, don't!"

_Aunt Aya! Where's mommy?_

"What do you guys think is going on here?"

"We don't know, sensei! Every time we get close—!"

"Go get the adults from room 108."

"But Mat—"

"Do it!"

_I want my mommy!_

* * *

Mai had not sat still since Matsuzaki-san had left the room. She had been pacing incessantly and quite frankly it was beginning to get on Oliver's nerves.

Of course, that was not the only thing that was annoying Oliver. He was still annoyed by the fact that she had not even said thank-you for saving Kazi. He was ticked because of Hara-san's accusations of coming only to harm Mai and concerned that her opinion would sway Mai's and damage all the progress he had acquired in maintaining at least a friendship with her. He was fed up by the fact that nothing was making any kind of sense concerning the children. He was irritated at the lack of control he had with the situations occurring around him. He was frustrated with himself for being unable to talk to Mai this morning.

Oliver's nerves had appeared to be under duress all day long.

"Naru, what do you think is happening?" Mai asked of him. He was not in the mood to answer her. "Naru!"

Oliver continued to ignore her, hoping that perhaps she would pick up on his cue to leave him be for now. As expected, she did nothing of the sort.

"Naru, I know you're the calm one and I'm the one that freaks out all the time, but could you try helping me out here?"

"And what would you propose I do?" he asked. He was forcing his voice to be calm. Deathly calm. And Mai appeared to know it well.

"Talk to me, calm me down, I don't know," Mai said. She was wringing her hands and her pacing seemed to increase. Oliver watched her feet for a moment, ensuring she was not going to trip anytime soon.

"Then sit down," Oliver ordered. Mai glared at him. He looked back at her. What did she want him to do? Oliver watched as Mai slowly made her way to her previous spot. She sat with her back to him. He could feel the warmth of her back a mere few inches away.

He was in no way prepared for the fact that she would lean backwards so their spines were touching all the way to the backs of their heads.

He was slightly more prepared for the fact that such an action relaxed him and helped him to take his mind off of what was bothering him. Even if some of his worries did concern her.

He began to lean back as well and she let him. He stopped when they were both leaning the same amount.

"Naru?"

This time, her voice did not annoy him. In fact, it was somewhat welcome. He made a noise in his chest for her to continue.

"What do you think will happen to Yui and Kazi? Do you think the hospital can find their parents?"

"I hope so. Medical records could be a useful thing. And there's the fact that they're testing blood. We could use it to find their parents," Oliver said. He could feel Mai's deep breath.

"Ayako said she could do that, use a test to actively search for their parents, I mean," she said. Oliver said nothing. "But I wasn't sure if it was a good idea. I mean, I got mad when I thought you used Psychometry on them, so would it be the same thing if we used their blood to find their heritage? And if we were gonna use a blood test, do we have to ask the kids? Yui and Kazi have been hiding their parents from us, but why? And will we even find their real parents through a blood test? They could have been adopted for all we know…"

The only thing that filled the room was silence for a moment. Oliver contemplated what to say as the second hands ticked away.

_Tick._

_Tick._

_Tick._

"Mai, Psychometry is different than blood work," Oliver said. He could not see her face, but he thought it would be better to elaborate than to not. "When I use my visions, there is a chance I am prying into someone's private life. Blood work unveils heritage, simply who gave the child life. It's not the same. As for asking the kids, you're right in the fact that they're hiding their parents from us, but that's not to say that what they're doing is right. If it helps us to make sure they're safe, then we should do the blood work."

"What if they're hiding it for good reason?"

"Mai, what reason warrants a child hiding their heritage? If someone is being hurt by their parents, then we should intervene somehow, shouldn't we?"

"Yes, but what if it's not that?"

"You have another theory?"

"No, but I don't think their parents are hurting anyone."

"Intuition?"

"I think so…"

Oliver lapsed into silence. He knew to trust Mai's intuition, but he needed time to form another hypothesis. He felt as though they should push to know who the parents are.

But should they?

"Naru?"

"What?"

"Thanks for catching Kazi. I—"

"Taniyama-san, Shibuya-san, Matsuzaki-sensei has asked that I escort you to the children," the man from before said. Oliver did not know his name and nor did he care to. He cared about the fact that they were breaking protocol and going to children they were to be separated from.

Whatever was happening, it must be serious.

* * *

"Mai, Naru," Ayako said. The duo had reached their friend swiftly, and Naru's haste had admittedly made Mai nervous.

"Where's Yui and Kazi?" she asked. Ayako gestured into the room behind them and the brunette looked around her friend. On two separate beds lay Yui and Kazi. Yui was still asleep, her bandages having been changed and a small bandage on her arm. Quite possibly from where they drew her blood. Kazi, on the other hand, looked absolutely fitful. His eyes were closed and his face was contorted into an expression Mai could only describe as terrified. She darted forward only to feel something nick at her face.

She felt something pull her back by the neck of her shirt.

"Kazi's in a panic," Naru stated. "We need to calm him down before anyone can get in there."

"No, really?" Ayako asked. Naru turned to her and frowned.

"If you're done being sarcastic, Matsuzaki-san," Naru said. "Mai, is there anything you know for certain will calm him down?"

"He's usually calm all the time," Mai said. She watched as something else flew across the room and only a pressure holding her back kept her from rushing inside herself. "The only time he wasn't was the morning after they came to me."

"What did you do to calm him down then?"

"I didn't do anything, Ayako. I just held them, and I can't get close right now!"

"A hug? The kid just needs a hug?" one of the medical staff asked. Ayako turned to face him.

"If you think you can give that little boy the love and care he needs right now, be my guest to walk in there and do it yourself," she said. None of the staff spoke up to offer their services. Mai watched as they even scooted backwards a little. She frowned at their cowardice.

"I'm going to go in there and give him a hug no matter what," she announced.

"Ma'am, if you go in there you're at risk for multiple lacerations and—"

"Mai, you're not going in there alone. I'm not so weak that I can't counteract the PK of a five-year-old while you go in," Naru said. Mai turned to him.

"Naru, you—"

"This isn't up for debate, Mai. He needs to be calmed down or he'll burn himself out. You're not going in at risk of injury. I'm going in with you," Naru said. Mai knew that she would not be able to talk him out of his new conclusion. She knew that he would go in and use his PK no matter what.

_But this time, I can do something about it._

* * *

Oliver glared at the petite brunette that was known as Mai. Mai the stubborn woman who would have probably never noticed the knife lunging for her face if he had not pulled her back as swiftly as he did. Mai the compassionate person who was willing to risk herself so she could calm a boy with raging PK. Mai the newly touchy person who was holding his hand?

Wait. He felt some of his energy being siphoned away and then returned, reinforced.

"How…"

"Gene taught me a little bit," she said as way of explanation. Oliver nodded as he felt a little bit more of his energy being taken and returned with slight reinforcements. He attempted to withhold his energy only for Mai to pull on it more forcibly. "You know I can't handle all of your energy yet, but I can do a little bit to give you strength. Just enough to keep the knives away from us."

"I have what I need now," Oliver said as a way of getting her to stop. He knew that if she continued, she would burn herself out faster than Kazi.

"But—"

Oliver did not waste words in explanation, but rather dragged Mai into the room whether she was ready or not. She stumbled after him a little, but otherwise kept up. A scalpel came towards them—the same one that had attacked Mai and the two medical staff beforehand. Oliver deflected it with the energy that Mai had given him. It fell to the ground with a harmless clatter.

The duo had reached halfway into the room when the needle from Kazi's arm ripped itself out. It flew towards the two at an impressive speed. Oliver stopped the flying needle in its tracks, then reached out a hand to grab it from midair. He would place it on the nearest surface when the boy had calmed down. Mai's grip on his right arm seemed to lessen.

"Mai…"

"I'm all right. Let's get to Kazi."

Oliver cast a glance towards the girl, not surprised to find that she was a touch paler than when she had entered the room. But whether it was from the fact that Kazi had practically ripped the needle out of his arm subconsciously or from the fact that she had tried to give Oliver energy she did not have he could not say. He moved his arm to support her rather than to lead her.

The last few steps to Kazi's bed were tense, as Oliver was unsure what the boy would use for ammunition next. Mai was led to the bed where she sat down to catch her breath. Kazi thrashed about for a moment and even kicked Mai in the back. To her credit, she did not cry out even though the blow looked as though it were painful. Instead, she scooped the boy up from the sheets, enveloping him in her arms.

"Kazi…Kazi, shhh… You're safe. You're in the hospital now. You did a good job in protecting your sister… Kazi, you're going to be okay…"

Oliver watched as the chaos in the room dwindled down. The temperature began to rise from its previously freezing temperature and the items around the room stopped quivering. He watched as Mai did what she did best. She gave people hope and comfort in ways that he could not. He placed the needle on the counter where it could not harm anyone.

"Daddy…"

The man turned to see the young girl looking directly at him. He turned to get Mai but she was still comforting Kazi. He would have to work with her.

"I'm not your father," he said. He was aware that his voice was not as cold as it normally was. He, however, did nothing to change it.

"Daddy, I'm thirsty…" she called out. Her voice was dry and cracked. Her half-closed eyes were pleading. The hospital room emphasized how pale she really was. "Daddy…"

Oliver sighed in defeat as he walked over to the sink. He looked for a paper cup—which he found situated in the cupboard—and filled it half way with water. He passed by the still hugging Kazi and Mai to give the little girl her drink. He sat on the bed and made sure she drank it slowly by tipping the cup for her. Having her choke could have disastrous consequences. She used his arm for support as she took slow and steady sips.

The girl drank the water more quickly than Oliver had thought she would. He took the cup away from her and set it on the tray attached to the bed. The child did not let go of his arm, but actually held to it tighter. He was surprised at how much strength a little girl could possess.

"Daddy, can you and mom stay with us tonight? Kazuki says he doesn't wanna stay alone…"

Oliver looked over at Mai. It did not seem as though she were going to leave anytime soon and quite frankly Oliver was not going to leave her. He looked into the blearily hopeful eyes of this small child who thought he was her father. He nodded, deciding that humoring her would be better than leaving her to cry. She was so happy that she hugged him with all of her five-year-old might.

"Thank you, daddy…"

* * *

"Shouldn't we be bringing them out now?" one of the medical staff asked. Ayako turned from the scene. She could not hear Mai, Kazi, Yui, or Naru from here, but she knew comfort when she saw it.

"Did you manage to get their blood before Kazi panicked?" the doctor in her asked. She watched as her team of four nodded. "Good. I say the adults can stay here in case the kids panic again, but you go ahead and run the blood and leave someone on watch if that'll make you feel better."

Ayako already knew that her team would test the blood and she already knew that they would have at least one person watching at all times. They did not know Naru and Mai like she did. They did not know Kazi and Yui like she did. They would look to the evidence and do everything in their power to make sure everyone was well when they left. And she did not blame them for it. Her team was good and this was what made them so.

She turned away from the door when her phone went off.

_That'll be Hoshou with lunch…_ she thought as she made her way down the hall. _I wonder if he brought the teriyaki or sushi…_

_**AmyNChan: hehehe, well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter~! *^_^***_

_**Naru: Chan-san…**_

_**AmyNChan: Okay, yes, fine. Guys, you should go check out Naruisawesome's page! We're working on a collab~! *^_^***_

_**Mai: *reads* So we finally get to take our revenge on you?**_

_**AmyNChan: Ye—wait, what?! *reads***_

_**Mai: Yes!**_

_**Naru: I am not opposed to revenge.**_

_**AmyNChan: Whyyyyyy!?**_

_**Mai: Everyone, go read Ghost Hunt! Behind the Scenes!**_

_**AmyNChan: I'm going to die, aren't I?**_

_**Naru: We're not to kill you. Only main, seriously injure, or frighten you.**_

_**AmyNChan: Gee, that makes me feel **__**loads**__** better…**_

_**Mai: So please go read Ghost Hunt! Behind the Scenes! on Naruisawesome's profile!**_


	20. Of Confessions and a new Case

_**AmyNChan: I AM ON A FRIGGIN' ROLL HERE!**_

_**Naru: Has her head gotten swollen?**_

_**Mai: Don't worry, yours is still bigger.**_

_**Naru: *glares***_

_**Mai: What? No one can compete with your narcissism!**_

_**Naru: *face palms***_

_**AmyNChan: ANYHOOT I DON'T OWN GHOST HUNT NOW ENJOY WHILE I KILL MYSELF DURING CHOIR! XDD My poor voice…**_

"Yasuhara-san, you are aware this idea is ludicrous and quite possibly taken directly from an investigative romance novel," Lin said. He, Madoka, and Yasuhara-san were keeping an eye on the office and discussing the turn of events. They had begun by debating whether or not to inform the others who knew about Yui-san and Kazi-san of their injuries and had somehow ended up at…this.

"But just say it's possible…"

"It isn't."

"But just say it is," Yasuhara-san insisted. "You can't deny how much they look alike."

"Yasuhara-san, what you're implying is mere speculation and—"

The conversation was brought to an abrupt halt by the opening of the door. Three heads turned to find an elderly woman standing in the doorway.

"I'm sorry, but is this SPR?"

* * *

A blonde man found himself searching for a small blue suitcase on a conveyor belt. Now twenty-four—almost twenty-five—in age, the priest was having the most difficult time finding his bag.

"Watch it!" an unidentified voice said. Despite the rudeness of his tone, John Brown merely smiled in the direction the voice had come from.

"Sorry 'bout that," he said. He continued to scan the conveyer belt for his bag and was relieved when he finally saw it. He excused himself and gently made his way to his bag, where another hand got to it first. John blinked and looked around, attempting to identify who had taken his bag so he could ask for it to be returned.

"It would seem you've taken great care with your luggage, Brown-kun," a familiar voice said. John turned towards the source with a smile of relief.

"Tojo-san, it's good to be seeing you!" John said. He graciously accepted his bag back from the orphanage head and walked alongside him. "How's everything going? Is everyone well?"

"They're most excited to celebrate your birthday with you. They love the chance to have a party," the older man said. His face was long as John remembered and still carried a warming smile. John returned the gesture.

"I'm glad. Though, I might visit them tonight as a dinner surprise. I would like to check in with some friends here in Tokyo beforehand," John said honestly. To his relief, Father Tojo did not appear offended by his subtle request.

"Certainly, Brown-kun. I know how much your friends mean to you," he said. John beamed brightly.

Of course, that meant he would have to find them first.

* * *

Masako huffed as she finally made it to the park. It was normally a place of serenity. A place she could forget that so many others demanded her time and be calm. Her parents had taken her on picnics to the park when she was younger. Many happy memories surrounded her whenever she found one nowadays.

However, she could not allow herself to feel happy at this point in time. All she wanted to do was cry and scream. How dare he come back with two children? How dare he come back to hurt her best friend? How dare he act like he had no idea about his influence on Mai?

Or herself?

No, Masako no longer loved him. Yet his opinion of her would always be regarded as valuable, if only for the fact that he was an intelligent man who was well-known and respected in her field. She had hoped that friendship—or at the very least an extremely tentative working relationship—could have prospered between them. Mai had already promised her a place as matron of honor at her wedding—whoever she chose to marry. If Shibuya-san was to be the groom, then Masako was still going to uphold her end of the promise she had agreed to.

But this…

If he had only returned to hurt her, Masako would not stand for it. There was no way she was going to allow Mai to be so grievously injured again.

Under a tree with no leaves and left with nothing save the cold air of reality, Masako allowed herself to cry.

* * *

"You're doing it again," she said. Yasu blinked back into reality. He had left the office ten minutes ago to meet up with his girlfriend—a wonderful girl he had met during his time in University by the name of Chiaki Kasai—but had been unable to keep his mind on the conversation that had been going for the lasting span of five minutes.

"Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind," he said. He grinned sheepishly as he stretched and she smirked in reply.

"Okay, captain obvious. Why don't you let the rest of us back on earth know what's going on in there?" she asked. Yasu smiled at her sneaking expression. He knew that she was a good girl and that she liked to tease him sometimes. To be fair, he almost always did it right back.

"I'm sure it can't be more entertaining than your pursuit of a career in the research of biological effects on PK," Yasu jibed. Kasai waved her hand in the air in a so-so manner.

"It's human biology and how knowing about its intricacies interacts with anything around it. The PK concentration is something I work on in my own spare time, but obviously something is more interesting or you wouldn't be lost in your own little world, would you?" she asked. Yasu chuckled.

"Touché," he said. Chiaki took a bite of her sandwich and Yasu chuckled as she missed a piece of lettuce. He reached up to take the green offender off of his girlfriend's face and smiled when she blushed. She talked tough sometimes and there were times when he was sure she would eventually get up, leave, and find someone better. Yet she stayed and he got to enjoy her company and her beautiful blushing face.

He would have to thank Mai again for setting them up on that blind date three years ago.

"You can stop teasing me now," she muttered. Yasu's eyes went wide in faux shock.

"My dear, I would never—"

"Yes, you would."

Yasu smiled at his girlfriend, putting a finger under her chin to guide her face towards him. Once she was looking at him properly, he spoke. "If I were to tease you now, it would be because you're the only thing I'm looking at. You know you're really adorable when you blush."

Yasu smiled a little more as her blush deepened. She went to look away but the boy would have none of that. He lowered his face to hers and gave her a slight peck on the lips.

"I love you." He wanted to make sure she knew it. He also liked the way the corners of her mouth twitched up despite her red face when he said it. It was a true smile if ever he saw one and it made his chest warm whenever she did it. The occurrence was not rare, per se, but it was always an enjoyable experience.

"I love you, too."

And that was all he needed to be in the moment. Right there with his girlfriend. In a little café in Shibuya.

* * *

Mai sat upright with little Kazi, rubbing circles on his back as he was finally asleep. The medical staff had been coming in and out of the room for what felt like once every ten minutes, but she knew they had only come in twice, once every hour. The boy had laid on her arm—the one they had taken blood from—and it sort of hurt, but she knew better than to move him. She wanted him to feel comfortable and safe, like he had 'told' her their first day in her apartment.

"Naru?" she asked. She wondered briefly if he was asleep or if he had snuck out with those catlike qualities of his.

A deep sound from his chest told her that she need not have worried. She let out a breath of laughter.

"It's strange. When he's like this, I can see what he's dreaming. I couldn't do that before," she mused aloud, needing something to say. "They both fell asleep on me the first day they got here. I couldn't hear them talking in my head or see either of them dreaming then…"

"I wonder what changed in order for us both to hear them."

"How long have you been able to hear them talk?" Mai asked. She was not angry. Well, maybe a little, but it was not as though she had up and told him either. Surprise was more of what she felt right now. She did not wait long for a response.

"When we came back from the case. However, I can't hear either of them unless one of them is holding my hand. I suspect it's skin-to-skin contact that allows the connection."

"Same with me, though the first time I noticed it was last night."

"It took you that long?"

"They keep wearing the gloves I got them for Christmas," Mai said. It was her only defense. She looked back down at Kazi and pondered the visions that were fading in and out. Dreams, obviously, but she could not recognize any the children the boy was seeing. They were blurs to her, akin to a photograph of a person that is too out-of-focus to make anything out. Like ghosts.

She turned her attention to something else. Watching Kazi's dreams was wrong, but it did tell her one thing. These children had a life and family that they needed to be returned to as quickly as possible.

"Naru?"

That same sound again.

"Do you think we'll find Yui and Kazi's parents?"

"Kazuki."

Mai blinked. That was a name she had not heard in a very long time. Not since her mother had passed. She saw it every year, engraved in stone, but she had not heard its pronunciation in a very long time.

"His name is Kazuki."

"Really?" Mai asked. She turned to the boy at her side, now wondering. Now remembering.

"Mai?"

"Kazuki was my father's name. My mom used to call him 'Zuki' when she was remembering a good memory," Mai explained. She smiled as she drew up a few memories of her own. Her mother and her baking, washing the car together, having a pillow fight. Her mom was one of the coolest people around, and the times when she was the happiest seemed to be when she was talking about her husband. "Mom loved him very much. When she was talking about him, everything was okay with her again. She wasn't quite as sad when she got to talk about dad."

Mai laughed a little bit. Not because she was changing the mood, but because she was happy that she had a few memories concerning her father. And even though she had not spent very long with him, she was happy that she had spent as much time with her mother as she did.

"Do you miss them?" Naru asked. Mai blinked.

"Of course I do, but I can't be sad about it forever. I've got to keep smiling, if only because I'm grateful for the time that I did have with both of them."

"I see."

"Naru?"

He made that sound again.

"Do you miss him?"

Mai did not get a verbal answer. She felt as though he were looking at her, as though his sapphire orbs were prodding her for an answer to some question unbeknownst to her. And even though she felt afraid to do so, she looked up to meet his gaze.

His look was questioning and intense and yet Mai did not feel uncomfortable with it as she had feared she would. Rather, it was a warm feeling that she got. Like a feeling of belonging or of home, only more powerful. It made her blush, but not in an embarrassed sense. She smiled gently, feeling as though her question had been answered and completely comfortable in sharing this moment with him.

She only hoped he felt the same.

"Now that we know this little guy's name, do you think we'll be able to find his and…you don't happen to know her name, too, do you?"

"Yuzuki."

"Mou, why do you not tell me these things?" Mai griped, the warm feeling shattered in an instant. She frowned at Naru, who merely shrugged. Mai noticed for the first time that the girl—now dubbed Yuzuki—was holding onto Naru's arm, sleeping. The sight gave her a bit of that warm feeling again.

"I was planning to discuss it over dinner."

Mai blinked.

Then blinked.

Then smiled.

He wanted to go to dinner again. Making this a regular thing would be like…

"That's got to be one of the worst ways to ask a girl on a date, Davis," Mai chided, somehow feeling empowered to make such a statement. Before she could even contemplate taking it back—though she did not feel as though it were a statement to take back—Naru did something.

He smiled. Though it was not the smile she had gotten after Yasuhara's case. It was not the smile she got from Gene—Naru would never smile like that, anyway. It was the smile she had seen before he had turned down her rejection. That smile frightened Mai. Her heart faltered.

"If I were to ask you on a date, would you say yes because I look like Gene?"

Her heart dropped. Not because of confusion, but because she was in pain. For him. But there was also something else going on. Understanding. She understood those words now.

_Me or Gene?_

He had not been shooting her down. It was a question. The fact that he had smiled had thrown her off, had reminded her of Gene in that moment. Had made everything so much more difficult than necessary. She had been so self-centered not to notice that he had been hurting when he had asked.

"Are you so blind that you can't see the fact that you and Gene aren't even remotely alike anymore? And even if you were, do you honestly think that no one would ever choose you?"

"I have no need for your pity," Naru said. Mai decided to disregard his tone for the moment. She wondered if he thought she were teasing him.

She was not.

"It's not pity, Naru. It's the fact that you seem to think that you can never be the better twin no matter what," Mai said. Naru glared at her for her words, but she felt no harm from him. Just the fact that she had hit the nail on the head and he was none too pleased with that fact.

"Mai…"

"I've seen Gene for six years now, two of which I thought he was you. If I wanted him that way, I would have told him when he came back to finish up my training," Mai said. She remembered the confusion the night Gene had returned to her life. She remembered not being able to sleep or eat well because the boy had reminded her so much of Naru. It was not until she had passed out from sheer exhaustion that she was able to establish the fact in her mind that they were two separate people.

That was when her friendship with Gene had truly begun to blossom.

"Gene's one of my best friends now, but he was your brother first. That's what comes to my mind when I think of him."

"Why does that matter? He's the good twin and you're a good person," Naru pointed out. "Good people should fall in love with other good people."

"Then maybe you're not defining 'good' right," Mai said. "Because as far as I'm concerned, there are three good people in this room with me."

"This is—"

"Before you say one more word, I want you to think about that little girl holding onto your arm for dear life," Mai said. Thankfully, the man shut his mouth and appeared to be considering her words, if only slightly. "She's loud, abrasive, stubborn, and doesn't know her manners. Does that make her a bad person?"

She watched as Naru turned to inspect the child, as if seeing her for the first time. The girl was small and frail while asleep. It was hard to believe such a child could cause so many problems while awake.

"Naru, if you have those kinds of traits, it doesn't make you a bad person. Your heart is in the right place, just like hers. She's so dedicated to keeping her brother safe and doing what's right for everyone that it's really admirable. So she keeps a few secrets, so what? It doesn't make her any less of a good person. It doesn't make you any less of a good person, either."

"She is a child and will grow out of those tendencies," Naru defended. Mai shrugged.

"She might, she might not. If she doesn't, she's going to make a few enemies, but the people around her will love her, anyways. And who knows, once we find their parents I might even pop in every now and again just to say 'hello'."

Naru did not say anything for a moment and Mai wondered if he would realize the similarities between himself and that little girl. If her point was made or lost in the analogy.

"Naru, I know that you're vain and you don't exactly have the best manners. I know that you don't like a lot of noise and that you don't always let people around you know what's going on inside your head. I know you can get picky with your tea and that you don't appreciate it when people embarrass you or tell you what to do. But you have a good heart and that's good enough for me. You're just a bit of an idiot scientist, that's all."

Mai waited as he processed the information she had given him. She willed herself not to be disappointed or heartbroken as the time continued to drag on and he said nothing. She did her best to keep her spirits up while he took his sweet time responding.

That never meant she succeeded. With each passing moment, she could feel herself—as vulnerable as she had let herself become in the last few moments—hurt more and more.

"It seems as though you're the one who took the good moment for yourself this time."

Mai looked at him, eyes wide and her mouth slightly open.

_What did he just—_

"This morning you asked why I didn't return to Japan sooner," Naru said. Mai nodded.

"You said you were afraid," she recalled. This time, it was Naru who nodded. "What was the great 'Naru' so afraid of?"

"To be blunt, I was apprehensive that you were still angry. Madoka's last report on the branch before it closed indicated that you were," Naru said.

"Wait, you made her keep tabs on how mad I was?" Mai was unsure how to feel about that. Whatever she decided, it was not a good feeling.

"I didn't ask her to, I only asked to make sure you were provided for. She sent me reports on your emotional well-being as well as your physical on her own."

Mai groaned. She had trusted Madoka! And now she knew that Naru knew about all the times she had gone on blind dates to get over him. Days after were usually days where she was angrier and griping at the memory of Naru more than normal. It had taken a while for her to tell Michiru and Keiko to stop. Even longer to tell Yasu, who she had dragged into a double date once. Lucky jerk was still in a good relationship with his blind date.

"I'm going to hurt that woman…" she vowed. They both knew it was an empty threat. "So, what made you come back now? If you were so freaked that I wouldn't want you here and you didn't want a branch open, why—"

"That is an assumption, Mai," Naru said. "While Japan may be the place my brother died, it is also the place where I am anonymous. No one need know who I am or what I do or how much prestige I have earned. Here, I'm Naru, the head of a small psychic research facility. I wanted the branch back open for myself and for the team I had hired for years ago. I was prepared to hire a new team, but speculated the facility would not remain open if I were forced to do so."

"Why?"

"Because they would not be the makeshift family you've strung together. Simple as that."

"Eh?"

"They already knew how I worked and my methods and each are competent in their own manner," Naru said. "It is rare to have a collection of competent exorcists that will willingly put aside their differences and work together like they do."

"So you didn't want to have to train new people," Mai said. She hung her head with a loud sigh when Naru nodded. This guy…

But then she smiled. And chuckled a bit.

"That's so you…" she murmured. "To talk about your friends that way…"

Naru said nothing more as she continued to giggle at how much he had changed, but at how Naru he still remained. She did not see that he was still watching her, the corners of his mouth tilted up in the tiniest of fractions.

* * *

John had been able to place his belongings into a spare room in the orphanage and leave without detection. To be perfectly honest, he had felt almost like a ninja, sneaking about in such a fashion. He supposed that he would have to try something akin to that with the children later when they were even aware of his presence in Japan. For now, he was on his way to Mai's apartment. She could usually get everyone together no problem ever since SPR had disbanded. It always seemed as though she were the glue of the crew.

But something caught his attention. The soft sounds of crying. He turned to find the location of the noise, but could not find the source in plain sight.

"Hello?" he asked as he followed the sound. He knew he was getting closer for the sound getting slightly louder. "Is anyone there?"

The sobs continued, as though no one had heard his attempt to help. John moved forward, sliding between two rather large apartment buildings as he did so. "Is there anyone here?"

* * *

"We will talk to our boss about this case, ma'am," Lin said after he had taken down all of the case details. The woman had gone into amazing depth and detail, but so much so that Lin wondered if perhaps this were all some elaborate story concocted by an old mind that had nothing else to entertain itself with.

"Thank you. We can't have any more kind young men disappearing. I fear for my friend's grandson, you see…"

"We'll talk to our boss about it, but that's the most we can offer right now,"Madoka stated. Lin looked at his wife and knew she was facing the same questions as himself. Was this case legitimate or was it some elaborate hoax? The details were certainly akin to hauntings, but the amount of detail this woman had gathered was impressive if nothing else. The woman seemed to accept Madoka's statement and stood to leave.

"Please try to have your boss accept the case. The poor boy has been missing for two days now… The police haven't found him and I fear…"

"We will try, I promise," Madoka said as she led the woman to the door, who was attempting to plead all the while. Lin looked down at the information she had given them to convey to Noll. According to the information and what Noll had said about Taniyama-san's apartment, her location was not all that far from where the brunette girl resided.

Perhaps Noll would take the case after all.

_**AmyNChan: Okay, new case. Wasn't expecting that at all. 0.o**_

_**Mai: You're the writer, shouldn't you know these things?**_

_**AmyNChan: I'm just the scribe here. I just watch what goes on and write it down.**_

_**Mai: …sure…**_

_**AmyNChan: Mean… Anyhoot, please read and review~! *^_^***_

_**side note: Yasu and Chiaki's relationship is like a relationship I know, so... XDDD**_


	21. Of Investigations

_**AmyNChan: Okay, guys, I have to stop here for a moment and address something.**_

_**Mai: What's that?**_

_**AmyNChan: I'm seriously not the first person to come up with a story like this. It's really flattering that you guys think so, but I'm seriously not. Different components of this story are influenced and inspired by other—frigging amazing you-should-probably-stop-reading-this-and-go-read-them—stories.**_

_**Naru: If it bothers you so much, why don't you give them an honorable mention here? It should not take up too much space.**_

_**AmyNChan: One step ahead of the game, as always.**_

_**Naru: *smirks victoriously***_

_**AmyNChan: Jerk… Okay, here are the awesome amazing super fantastic fanfictions you should read:**_

_**Infinity**__** by witchhuntress**_

_**Beneath the Lilac Tree**__** by archangelBBQ**_

_**The Transfer**__** by Malindorie**_

_**What Makes a Good Assistant**__** by Ethia**_

_**Mai: Four…?**_

_**AmyNChan: And they're freaking great! WMAGA was also the inspiration for a collection of cases, aka my tale SPR: Is This Normal?**_

_**Naru: Now, to the reason you are pointing them out.**_

_**AmyNChan: Because these fics are so **__**good**__**, they deserve their spotlight. Infinity's got really adorable children in it and seems to have a deeper, darker plot underneath everything cute that's going on. Beneath the Lilac Tree is written really well and the entire 'flux of time' is addressed properly there, along with its many implications. The Transfer is excellent in the way of secrecy and the subtle blooming of relationships as well as *spoiler, spoiler, spoiler*. What Makes a Good Assistant is just an all-around great fic that you guys should really read. Great cases and everything seems to connect in on itself! It's great!**_

_**Mai: Obviously, none of these authors—witchhuntress, archangelBBQ, Malindorie, Ethia, or AmyNChan—own Ghost Hunt, but they enjoy writing for it.**_

_**AmyNChan: So when you're done here, go check them out. Because, honestly, each of them is worth the read. Seriously. Go do it.**_

"Send the file to my phone," Oliver instructed before hanging up. The young—though not quite as young as he used to be—boss sighed. Ghosts never took a break, and therefore, neither did he. Even when he wanted a very slight one for the first time in a long while.

Oliver punched the buttons on his phone and waited for the file to appear. Mai was watching with curious intent. He knew because she had a habit of clicking her tongue when she was curious but he decided to try ignoring her for now. He had to put his mind to the case file.

"What is it, Naru?"

He should have known she would not keep quiet.

"New case."

"Oh. What about?"

"Don't know yet."

"Oh."

Mercifully, that was the end of that conversation. And not a moment too soon as that was when the file loaded on his miniature screen. He did not groan as he realized the transcription took up the equivalent of fifteen pages worth of notes. He simply got right to reading, his blue eyes scanning over the information easily.

* * *

Masako took a deep breath and straightened herself out. Crying had actually relieved a lot of the pressure in her mind and she could think clearly again. The world came into clarity and she knew she had been rash.

But she would not take back her challenge. Not now.

Who knew? Perhaps the reaction their boss showed would tell her if her blind instincts had been correct or not. In any event, she would maintain a distance from him for now. She would watch for his reaction and keep an eye out for her friend if she needed it.

"Excuse me, Hara-san?"

The celebrity turned around to find a person standing before her. He was familiar and had a long face with greying hair. However, it was the priest robes he wore that identified him in her mind.

"Father Tojo, correct? It's been a while," she greeted with a slight bow. The taller man returned her gesture.

"It has been a while, Hara-san," he agreed. "I met up with Brown-kun this afternoon at the airport. He said he was going to meet up with his friends before greeting the children, but they wanted to know something and had me call his cell phone. He's not answering so I was wondering if perhaps you knew where he has gone off to?"

"I'm sorry, I haven't seen John-san today," Masako said. "If he were going to find everyone, he might start at Mai-san's apartment. We always go there if we want to meet up."

"I see, thank you. Could you show me the way or let Brown-kun know I'm looking for him?" Father Tojo asked. Masako nodded.

"Of course."

* * *

"Eh? Jou-jou-chan and doji-kun are hurt?" Bou-san asked. He had only meant to drop off lunch and then meet up with everyone else at the office, but to hear that they were in the hospital was a surprise. His girlfriend nodded with a frown.

"Yes, and what's with the nicknames?" she asked. "You've only seen them twice, maybe three times?"

"Yeah, but they keep calling me Uncle Bou-san. Well, jou-jou-chan does at least."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ayako asked. She took the lid off of her bento. Bou-san knew she liked stir-fry.

"Nothing really," he said as the red headed woman began to eat. "I just wanted a nickname for them. Jou-jou-chan got hers because Mai-chan's already jou-chan."

"And 'doji-kun'?" Ayako asked. Her eyebrow raised itself while she scrutinized him. Bou-san waved off her condescending air.

"Well, I'm not going to call him small shounen or sho-sho-kun, am I?"

"That's ridiculous, even for you."

"And that's just mean," Bou-san returned. He tapped his foot on the ground, knowing she was off for a while. Long enough to explain, at least. "So what happened to jou-jou-chan and doji-kun? Are they goinna be all right?"

"Looks like they both fell and hit their heads. Naru was able to get Kazi before he was seriously injured, but Yui-chan was already on the ground by the time he made it into the room."

"Where was jou-chan?"

"Looks like Yasu paid the office a visit. They were talking in the other room."

"How's she holding up? You know how she gets about those kids."

"She seemed fine by the time she and Naru got here."

"Naru came?"

"The EMT thought they were using drugs."

Bou-san was fairly certain that his face showed the disbelief he felt by the way Ayako was nodding. He closed his mouth and thought about it for the grand total of three whole seconds.

"Naru's not stupid enough to take those kinds of drugs. He runs a business and he's well-respected," he finally said. There was literally no point in him taking the kind of drugs he would have to be tested for. Bou-san would not begrudge him an Advil or two, though.

"That's what I said, but they're getting their blood tested anyway. It won't hurt anything."

"No," Bou-san said as Ayako tossed the remainder of her lunch into the trash bin. "Probably not."

* * *

"That took a while," Mai said as Naru punched some buttons on his phone. The man did not speak, but she was sort of used to it. Did not mean she had to like the silence though. She kept talking to prod him into conversation. "What's the case about?"

"Young men are disappearing around your apartment complex," Naru said. Mai's eyes widened and she stopped rubbing circles into Kazi's back. She may know their real names now, but she was still going to call them by their nicknames just in case she slipped up.

"Shouldn't the police be looking into it?" Mai asked. "And if young men are disappearing, why didn't they get you last night? I'm glad whatever it is didn't, but…"

"This is the fifth case of missing persons in the month, and each of the boys described had a kind, gentle personality. They range from thirteen to their late forties in age and it seems to not matter how they look."

"So the only thing they have in common are their personalities?" Mai asked. Naru nodded.

"Again, why aren't the police investigating?" Naru sighed at this girl.

"They are investigating, but their searches have turned up fruitless. All they know is the victim is alone when they are taken and that they are kind. That's it. I would imagine they would have a profile of the person responsible if they had found any bodies. None of the men have been found."

"So that's why they called us in, because the disappearances are strange," Mai said. She began to rub circles on Kazi's back again as she knew the five-year-old was safe.

"They called SPR in. You and I are stuck here until further notice," Naru clarified. Mai frowned.

"That's unfair!"

"The hospital's not going to release either of us until they are certain we are not a menace to the children."

"But…"

"I'm putting Lin and Bou-san in charge of this case. We will join them when we can."

"Mou…" Mai groaned, looking over at the entryway. There was a doctor standing there, just as there had been once since she and Naru had come in.

She wished they would hurry up and finish those stupid blood tests.

* * *

Lin received an email from Noll and opened it without hesitation.

_Interesting case, take it. You and Bou-san lead. Report to me when you can. Mai and I will join you as soon as possible._

A lesser man would have rolled his eyes at the shortness of the email, but not Lin. He knew very well how his young friend worked and he knew that once the boy had left the hospital with Taniyama-san and the children in tow, he would come straight to the investigation. This meant he had to gather everyone and begin the case as swiftly as possible. He gathered the contacts and began with the most obvious.

Bou-san, who Lin was sure had been put at the head with him in order to handle the rest of the team. Something which the Chinese man was grateful for.

* * *

"That's an interesting ringtone…" Ayako commented. Her dry tone was lost on her boyfriend as he gathered the device from his pocket. The haunting music always made it clear that SPR was on the other side of the line.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Bou-san," said the voice from the other end of the line.

"Lin-san, it shouldn't surprise me that you're the one calling instead of Naru-chan or jou-chan. What's up?" the monk asked. Ayako was curious enough to shift closer to the phone, listening in on what was going on. If Lin-san called, it was probably important.

"We've taken a case and Noll wants both of us to lead it."

Bou-san blinked.

Ayako blinked.

Lin-san waited on the other end of the line.

Bou-san cleaned his ear.

"Sorry, I thought you said Naru-chan wanted _me_ to lead the case with you. Wouldn't he choose someone like Mori—ah, sorry, Lin—wait, that won't work either… Wouldn't he choose Madoka-san to help you with this?"

"Madoka's strength lies in research and gathering of information. Her and Yasuhara-san have their strengths in that department. Matsuzaki-san is more apt with charms, but not with a few of the people on our team on occasion. Hara-san has angered Noll while himself and Mai are in the hospital and unable to lead themselves."

"And John's still out of the country…" Bou-san mused aloud. He sighed. "If he really thinks I can help, then sure. When's the case?"

"As soon as possible. Noll and Mai will join us when they are able," Lin-san responded.

"Where is it?"

"It's relatively nearby. I'll send the information to your phone."

"When do we start?"

"I will be calling the clientele back in order to ask when they would like us over. It won't surprise me if they insist on our arrival before the day is out. I would appreciate some help getting the equipment in the back of the van."

The thought to politely refuse crossed Bou-san's mind for no more than a second. He remembered just how powerful the Omoyoji was and did not want to test the man's patience today. Most of the others thought Lin-san was the one who kept Naru at bay, but Bou-san personally believed that it had been Naru to keep Lin-san from seriously killing them at some point or another.

"O-okay. I'll head over, then."

"Thank you."

The click of the phone allowed Hoshou to breathe. His girlfriend backed off and threw her long-empty bento in the trash.

"Looks like we both have to get back to work. I was due back an hour ago…"

"What!?"

"Do old men have to yell so loudly?"

"I have to yell so your old, batty ears can hear it!"

"What was that?!"

* * *

Masako walked up to the door of Mai's apartment. She already knew the girl was at work, but was equally aware of the fact that John-san did not know about Shibuya-san's return. She expected him to be waiting in the front of the apartment, but he was not. She frowned and turned to the apartment next door and knocked politely.

"Hara-san?"

"It's quite all right, Father Tojo," Masako assured him. "The neighbors are friendly people who will not mind if we ask them if he's been around. The people in this apartment in particular are generally as kind as to let us wait inside their apartments for Mai in the event she works late."

"Masako-chan, how are you doing this afternoon?" a woman asked as she opened the door. She was quite old and rather small, just how the girl remembered her.

"Doing well, thank you. By any chance, has a young man been outside Mai's apartment today? We can't seem to find him," Masako asked. The elderly woman's face appeared to drain of color and the young medium obviously became concerned.

"Is—"

"What is the young man like?" she asked.

"He's blonde, about so tall last I saw him," the girl answered, indicating his height with her hand. "He's got blue eyes and— I'm fairly certain you've met John-san before, right?"

The elderly woman took a breath, her grip on the door tightening and faltering unevenly. Masako noticed the woman's reaction and frowned. "Is everything all right? Do you need to sit down?"

"Perhaps… Would you care for some lemonade?"

Masako and Father Tojo looked at each other. The latter had to return to the children soon, the former had to continue the search for John. But what if there was something going on? Something that could be helpful in finding him?

"Lemonade would be lovely," Masako said, ushering the elderly woman back inside the warmth of her own apartment. Father Tojo kindly closed the door behind them so as to keep the cold outside where it rightfully belonged. Masako took note of the pictures that lined the wall. This apartment was identical to the one Mai owned, yet exactly the opposite. The walls were filled with pictures of many family members, the apartment of a woman who had lived her life quite happily. Although she was very insistent on calling her living space a 'house'.

Masako was not sure why.

"It's such a happy home," Father Tojo commented, looking at the many pictures that lined the house. He pointed at one of the many pictures that lined the walls. "That's Todashi. He and his siblings were in the Church's care fifteen years ago. He was so lively, so rambunctious. He would be…"

"Thirty-five now," the elderly woman replied, coming back into the room with three glasses of lemonade. Father Tojo smiled at her as she placed the shaking tray on the table.

"I see. I take it that a few of his children would be in the pictures on your wall?"

"Yes. He ended up marrying Chelsea, another child who was in the Church during his stay there, and they've given me many grandchildren."

"Really? That's surprising," the priest said, though there was a twinkle in his eye. Masako had no idea who Todashi and Chelsea were, but she hoped they were happy people from the conversation she was witnessing. Happiness often begets more happiness.

Which is why Masako found it frightening that the elderly woman had tears streaming down her face. The bittersweet smile also caused her heart to falter. What had happened to this woman in the three months she had seen her last?

"It is," she said. "They're all such good children. So kind and sweet. Emily helps me with the dishes, but I won't let her near the glass until she's older. Tori tries to help me reach things when she stays over, but she's so little, bless her. Walton… Walton…"

Masako moved to sit beside the woman, who now had her head in her hands. She was sobbing and the medium could say nothing to comfort her. All she could do was gently place a hand on the woman's back.

"My little Walton…He's my oldest grandbaby…"

"What about Walton-kun?" Masako asked.

"He's been taken, like the others…" the woman cried. "He's so kind, he wouldn't do anything to hurt anybody… Why did someone have to take my Walton? He asked me to go to the market to buy something and I let him go… Why did I let him go?"

"Have you reported this to the police?" Father Tojo asked. Masako was glad he would because she was attempted to get the normally cheerful woman to calm down.

"Yes… they haven't found him… they haven't found any of them."

"How many people have gone missing around in this area?" Father Tojo asked. The woman shook her head. "You don't know?"

She shook her head again.

"How old is Walton-san?"

"He'll be fourteen this upcoming year. I already have a gift for his birthday…"

The elderly woman looked across the room and Masako followed her gaze. On the shelf, just hidden from view was a small box. It was not wrapped yet, but the contents were well-hidden from the world. If Masako had not known that it was a gift, she would have thought nothing of it.

"Would it be all right if I prayed for you and for Walton-san?" Father Tojo asked. The elderly woman nodded her head as she reached for the handkerchief within her picket. "What is your name?"

She blew her nose and dabbed at her eyes. "Haru Chiyo, though call me Chi-obaa. Everyone does."

Father Tojo nodded his head as he leaned his head forward in an offered prayer.

"Father in heaven, we come before thee…"

As Masako lowered her head in respect for the prayer, she could not help but feel unease in her heart. She knew Walton-kun. She had met him a few times before and he always seemed so eager and helpful. She hoped and prayed in her heart for the safety of both that little boy and for John-san.

* * *

"Thank you for listening to me, and I hope that Walton and John-kun will be found soon," Chi-obaa said as Masako and Father Tojo prepared to leave. "My friend, Saki, went to find help. Hopefully they can find the reason behind the disappearances."

"We will do all we can to help," the raven-haired medium said, comfort in her grey eyes. "In the meantime, please stay inside, Chi-obaa. When Walton-kun returns, I'm sure he won't want his obaa-san to be in tears of sadness."

"I suppose you're right, Masako-chan."

"Until we see each other again, then," the medium said. The elderly woman nodded as she shut her door, holding onto the cross that Father Tojo had offered her.

"She's such a kind and strong woman. She used to do missionary work with her husband," Father Tojo said.

"I was unaware that the two of you knew the other. John-san never mentioned anything about it while I was in their company," Masako said. The priest smiled.

"Brown-kun never asked. I'm sure he would have told you had he known. After all, this group is filled with his treasured friends."

"That's kind of you to say."

"It is the truth."

Masako smiled hesitantly before the corners of her mouth fell in concern. Whatever was going on was dangerous and she felt uneasy. Was this because of her personal friendly connection to John, who appeared to be in danger? Was this somewhat familiar feeling something else? She looked around, hoping to find something.

"Yo, Masako!"

She had not been expecting to find Takigawa-san right in front of her.

_**AmyNChan: Okay, so I'm gonna say my point again from the start.**_

_**Infinity**__** by witchhuntress**_

_**Beneath the Lilac Tree**__** by archangelBBQ**_

_**The Transfer**__** by Malindorie**_

_**What Makes a Good Assistant**__** by Ethia**_

_**Read them.**_

_**Mai: Oh, but please do review here first!**_

_**Naru: *glowers***_

_**AmyNChan: ehe… ^^; *flees from Naru***_


	22. Walking Around

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I'm just gonna update real quick—**_

_**Naru: You're not even studying for your finals.**_

_**AmyNChan: SHHHHH!**_

_**Mai: Even **__**I**__** know better than that...**_

_**AmyNChan: merh! Thing is, I don't own Ghost Hunt!**_

"Why are you here? We had not called you yet," Lin asked of the medium who normally worked for them. He could tell she had been crying earlier, but it was not his place to pry so he chose not to. He could not handle any more emotional drama today.

"We're looking for John-san. Father Tojo told me he was looking for us so I believed we would find him waiting outside of Mai-san's apartment," Hara-san answered. She did not appear phased at all by the monk's sudden greeting. "Has SPR been hired to investigate this area?"

"Yeah. How'd you figure?" Bou-san asked.

"Aside from the fact that you have shown up in the company van with equipment, we just heard about the events happening in this neighborhood from Chi-obaa," Hara-san said. The name was familiar to Lin… He could not remember. He vaguely wondered if it were important.

"Hara-san, so long as you're here, might we make use of your talents?" he finally said. The medium turned to him with a nod.

"I have an uneasy feeling, but nothing beyond that for now. I will have to walk around further to see whether this feeling is connected to anything paranormal or if it is simply myself," she said bluntly. Lin nodded at her truthfulness, silently bidding her to go with Father Tojo.

"I must return to the orphanage. I've been gone for too long," the priest said, forcing Lin to rethink his plan. They could not let him go alone as it was men like himself that were being abducted when left alone.

"I'll walk you out of the neighborhood, don't want ya to disappear on the kiddos, right?" Bou-san offered. At least the priest would not be alone, however…

"Bou-san." The blonde bassist turned around when he was called. Lin pointed towards the van. "Grab a radio and when on your way back do not deviate. Check in if you feel the need to go anywhere else."

"Yeah, yeah. Who do you think I am, jou-chan?" the monk grinned. Lin was not smiling. Sending the man off on his own—even to protect Father Tojo—was a risk he had not anticipated having to take so early in the investigation. He watched as the two walked down the street, each engaged in lighthearted conversation.

"Shall we get started? The sooner I finish the sooner we will be able to set up the cameras," Hara-san said. Lin had to admit she had a point. He would rather not do a walk-through with her at the moment, but he had no choice. He followed her lead.

* * *

It eluded her again. The source of this feeling. Every time she felt as though it were within her grasp, merely around the next corner, it would flit away. It was as frustrating as attempting to capture smoke with one's bare hands.

"Hara-san, we are finished," the tall Chinese man said firmly. Masako kept her expression calm, though she was this close to popping her demure top. "We need to set up the cameras now if we are to finish before the sun goes down."

"The only thing I was able to ascertain is that _something_ is here," she said. She attempted to remain calm and noted to herself that such feelings of frustration and anger were more likely to drive spirts away rather than bring them closer. She had to become like a lake. A lake of glass on a sunny day in the middle of summer. A lake that is inviting to swim in and beckoning to the passerby.

A lake with immense depths.

"Hey, guys, Father Tojo's out of the neighborhood safe," Bou-san said. His voice crackled over the radio and reminded Masako that the day had not been finished yet.

"Thank you. Return to base," Lin-san said. The monk's radio remained silent even though Masako was certain he was grumbling about the tightness of the security.

"Where are Mai-san and Shibuya-san?" she asked. She had expected them to be setting up base while they were gone, but it appeared as though she were mistaken. The tall Chinese man hesitated on giving her an answer. Her eyes narrowed. What would they hide from her?

"Noll and Taniyama-san have accompanied Yui-san and Kazi-san to the hospital. They will join us when they have been released."

What?

What?

"What happened? Is M—are they all right?"

How could this have happened?

"The children fell from the cupboards while we were talking in the other room."

Okay. But that does not explain Mai-san and Shibuya-san.

"Why are Shibuya-san and Mai there?"

She had never heard Lin-san scoff before. Not even close. Now she could say she had.

"The doctors were not sure if Noll and Taniyama-san were fit as guardians. They were taken to the hospital for some tests. Once they have been released, they'll come to work on the investigation."

"Why test Mai? As far as I know, the children are Shibuya-san's."

"No. The children were already with Taniyama-san by the time we had arrived," Lin-san said. Masako blinked.

"That's impossible. Mai wouldn't have kids. There's no way she could have been pregnant without us knowing at any point in time," Masako said. She remembered that even when they had not seen each other in a while, Mai had always been too hung up on Shibuya-san to do anything serious. No serious dating, nothing even close to intimacy. And when Shibuya-san had left the first time, they had certainly not been in a position to have such an … intimate … relationship.

"They did not come with Noll. Madoka and I have been with him for the past four years and there is no conceivable way that he could have fathered a child. Not from the confines of his office, the front of the classroom, or the apartment that no one ever went to," Lin-san replied. Masako grit her teeth.

"Then…who are they?" she asked.

She was met with a brief silence. A silence that told her more of an answer than anything solid could have.

* * *

"Honestly, I'm nowhere near as bad as Jou-chan," Bou-san muttered. "Even after going to college and chasing that fancy degree, she still gets herself into trouble. I wonder if she's had a chance to get into trouble yet with Naru. Probably…"

The monk laughed to himself as he turned memories over in his mind. Memories of cases he, Ayako, and Jou-chan had taken over the past few years. Some of them ended peacefully, some cases were left unsolved, quite a few of them ended with Jou-chan in the hospital. Bou-san always hated it when that happened because it always meant the girl had done yet another reckless thing.

"Though, maybe with Naru to keep her in line, she won't get hurt so often…" he mused aloud as he passed by an alleyway.

The alleyway was dark and lonely.

The sun was going down.

"Nah. If anything, she'll get in more trouble now with him to save her all the time…"

Bou-san chuckled at his own joke, recalling the times that Naru had gotten her out of trouble. Perhaps now that he was back, her streak of trouble-finding would increase and—

A sound caught the monk's ear. The sound of crying. He walked backwards a bit until he returned to the alleyway he had just passed. He lifted his radio.

"Lin-san, this is Bou-san. I'm hearing someone crying in an alleyway around the corner from base. I'm gonna go check it out," he said. Without waiting for a response, he pocketed the radio and slid his form between the buildings. The crying got louder.

"Little girl, are you here?" the man asked. "You don't need to be afraid, big brother's here to get you. You can come out now."

The cries continued and Bou-san ended up feeling his way around in the dark. He frowned. Why would a little girl be out here in the first place? And why alone? This neighborhood was a good place, he and Ayako had checked it out when Mai had moved here a while ago.

"There's nothing scary here, you can come out," Bou-san said. The cries were louder now.

Why was this person not answering him? What—

"…un!"

That was not a girl's voice.

"Run! …an!"

That was the voice of a familiar friend.

"John! Where are you?"

"…ot safe! Yuki—"

"John!"

"Run! She's coming for you!"

The cries suddenly stopped. Bou-san looked around. There was a little girl around here somewhere and now he was fairly certain he was being lured into a trap. If anything, John's renewed warning caused him to turn tail and get out of there as soon as possible.

"—onna! Run!"

Bou-san quickly ran the way he had come, now feeling a dark presence after him. The crying had stopped, true, but it was almost as though something else had replaced them. A hunger. Desperate and almost savage. The feeling was clenching across Bou-san's chest and making it even harder to breathe. He pushed his legs to go faster, cursing at how far he had traveled without realizing it.

And then the feeling was gone. It vanished, peeling away from his back as though it were a frightened animal. Still, Bou-san felt he was not safe. He would have to make it to the van and make sure that everyone was there.

"…an! Bou-san, come in please!" Lin-san's voice demanded over the radio. Bou-san felt relieved to hear the man's voice and picked the device out of his pocket.

"Yuki-onna!" he shouted once he pressed the button to talk.

"Where are you?"

"Around the corner!"

"We're coming to meet you now—"

"Bad idea!" Bou-san said. "I'm almost there, just make sure there's a barrier or something. I'll brief you guys once I'm there."

"The doors to the back of the van will be open."

Bou-san was grateful for that as he turned the corner. His face paled.

* * *

Masako glanced at the doors yet again. From inside the van her senses were slightly more protected and she did not have that uneasy feeling. Rather, the feeling had abated until it was merely her worry for John that had been left behind.

But thinking about the kind priest's disappearance was troubling for her. He had become a good friend and the first to forgive her for her actions against Shibuya-san. It had been he who had helped her come to terms with herself and confront Mai. He had left for Australia for a family emergency and had been out of the country since before she left for her shoot. His disappearance was upsetting for her.

Lin-san, as usual, was typing on his computer. Masako wondered vaguely if he were typing up a report of the situation thus far for Shibuya-san to review. It seemed likely. She decided not to pay heed to the typing of the keys and look around the van for the umpteenth time.

"Lin-san!"

"What is it, Hara-san?"

"It's at the end of the street!"

Masako could not break her line of sight with the people at the edge of the street. To her, there were two people there. One of which was Takigawa-san, who appeared to have stopped for the woman across from him.

The woman was transparent and her features were masked by long hair. She could not tell height nor age nor anything else. All she saw was the form of a woman and she could hear the woman's cries as Takigawa-san lifted his hands to defend himself.

Masako watched in horror as Takigawa-san's chant cut into the woman. She appeared to be surprised and hurt when she fled from the man. He continued to run towards the van and ducked inside quickly. Masako knew that shutting the doors would do nothing more to protect them from the woman, but supposed that it would help with the monk's sense of security.

She closed the doors for his sake.

"Thanks," the exhausted monk said as he caught his breath. "That was too close…"

"Bou-san, are you all right?" Lin-san asked. The blonde man nodded and continued to take in air.

"What happened to you?" Masako asked. She reached into the front seats of the van and retrieved a bottle of water. She passed it to the monk who gratefully took it. After his drink, he explained.

"I was on my way here when I thought I heard a little girl crying. I radioed Lin-san to tell him I heard something and was going to investigate it—"

"The radio didn't come through," Lin-san interrupted. Masako nodded. If the monk had radioed, she would have definitely heard it. Takigawa-san frowned.

"I remember radioing in, though. But besides that, I heard a girl crying and went to see if I could find her. It's going to be dark soon and she sounded upset."

"Did you find her?"

"No, I found John."

"John-san? Was he all right? Why didn't you bring him back with you?" Masako drilled the monk with questions. He held up a hand to stop her and she reluctantly bit her tongue, though her eyes were demanding that she receive the answer as immediately as possible.

"I didn't actually _see_ him, but I know I heard him," he said. "He told me to run so I did. He also said 'Yuki-onna', so I figured it was important to look up."

"Yuki-onna? I'm not familiar with it," Lin-san said. Masako turned towards Takigawa-san, but it seemed as though he were as lost as the omoyoji. The medium sighed.

"Yuki-onna is a legend," she clarified. "Because I work in the show industry of ghost hunting, I know many popular legends around the field. One of the Japanese favorites is Yuki-onna. She's supposed to be a spirit who is completely white and blends in with snow around her. She can lead people to death by exposure or prey upon them actively. She usually preys on weak-willed men or people with good intentions. Sometimes she's simply pleased to watch them die and other times she takes it one step further. She is cold and ruthless like snow, but there is one story of her letting a young boy go because she found him to be beautiful."

"But it hasn't snowed here," Takigawa-san pointed out. "It's gotten a bit colder, sure, but there's no snow."

"That's true. So what did Brown-san mean when he said Yuki-onna?" Lin-san asked. Masako had no answer for him and given the fact that the monk did not speak, she suspected neither did he.

* * *

"There's no way this can be right…" Ayako said as she looked over the results. She had scanned them over thrice and there was no way she was misreading them. She looked towards Hiroshi, her eyebrows down and she had half a mind to chew her lip. Screw it, she was chewing her lip.

"These are right. None of the blood samples were mixed," he said. He had repeated the answer to the unasked question three times, this being the third.

"Then there's something wrong with the machine. Run it again."

"But that means we'll have to keep them overnight."

"Run them. Again."

"Very well."

* * *

"Masako-san?" Mai asked. She was using her cell phone after making sure it was okay with the nurse. "I don't think I'll make it to your event tonight. I'm sorry."

"It's fine, I need to cancel with them anyways," her friend reassured her over the phone. Mai let out a puff of air in relief. She had been ever-so-slightly worried that her friend would be upset with her for being the one to back out.

"Still, I feel bad. Maybe we can go shopping later? I want to know what happened during your shoot and we didn't really get a chance to catch up at the office," Mai said.

"That would be wonderful. I hear your life hasn't been very restful, either."

"I guess you could say that," Mai said. She chuckled a little bit, almost worried about asking the next question. "Would you mind if I brought Yui and Kazi along? They're a little high-energy, but they're good kids."

"Not at all."

Mai felt her shoulders relax at those words. She had gotten an uneasy feeling in the office, thinking that perhaps Masako did not like the children for some reason. Somehow, having her friend say she did not mind having the kids tag along made her feel more at ease.

"I have to leave now, Mai. Tell Shibuya-san that proof is no longer required, but if he ever puts me in a place of doubt again, I will whisk away the person he holds dear."

"Gee, _that_ isn't a thinly veiled threat at all," Mai stated. She frowned at the phone. What on earth could Masako hold over him now?

"If I were to hide it any more then you would doubt my intentions," Masako returned.

"I don't know what your intentions are now!"

"Exactly."

"Masako—"

"Goodbye, Mai. I have to leave now."

"Masa—" Mai glared at the phone in her hand. She hung up on her. That little medium snot had the audacity to hang up on her after asking her to deliver a _threat_ to Naru. The nerve of that Masako-san was just flabbergasting at some times.

A poking at her side brought her back to the present. She looked down at Kazi, who was now wide awake. Wide awake and looking at her questionably. She smiled for him to answer his unasked question.

"I'm okay," she said. "Masako-san just gave me a funny message."

"What did Aunt Masa say?" Yui asked from her bed. Ever since she had woken up, she had not let go of Naru. Mai had already taken pictures and had texted them to her email just in case he got the _brilliant_ great idea of deleting them when she was not looking. They were going to be her screen saver for now.

"Just some funny things," Mai said. She knew Naru would want to know, but she would tell him later. She was not going to pass a threat along to him in front of the children.

"Tell me what kind of funny things," the child demanded as she climbed onto Naru's arm. He allowed the action and Mai seriously wanted to take another picture.

"No."

"Tell me."

"No."

_She won't tell me!_ the adults heard the little girl whine in their heads. Of course, the children were still unaware that the adults were listening, so they tried not to seem as though they were listening in. Naru had an excellent success rate with his poker face. Mai, well…suffice to say she needed the practice. However, the children appeared not to be paying heed to the expressions of the elder people in the room.

_Maybe it doesn't matter._

_Maybe it does._

_Doesn't._

_Does._

_Doesn't._

_Does!_

_Doesn't._

_Does!_

_Does not._

"Kazi's being mean to me!" Yui cried out, throwing herself dramatically on her bed. The action did little to help the girl's argument, but actually entertained Mai. The girl _was_ only five after all. Mai chuckled and vaguely wondered how the parents of these children were able to keep up with them.

She hoped the blood test would be done soon.

_**AmyNChan: Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll try to have the next done as quickly as I can~! *^_^***_

_**Mai: Please read and review!**_

_**AmyNChan: Also, I rearranged my profile so it's got a table of contents and everything should be organized now. Hope it's useful~! *^_^***_


	23. Yuki-onna

_**AmyNChan: Trying really hard to update here, guys. XD**_

_**Mai: Given the fact that the last update wasn't more than a week away, I'd say you're doing pretty awesome, AmyChan!**_

_**AmyNChan: Aw, thanks Mai~! *^_^***_

_**Naru: You're still a fallable human.**_

_**AmyNChan: Seriously, Naru!?**_

_**Naru: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

"Lin-san, to what do I owe the pleasure of hearing your mellifluous voice?" Yasuhara asked from over the phone. The Chinese man sighed. Was this really the time to be playing jokes? No, but the young man did not know that.

"We've taken a case and need you to look into the area surrounding Mai's apartment," Lin said.

"Are you saying those disappearances are paranormal?"

"Bou-san just confirmed it."

A low whistle was heard from the other side. "I'll get on it. I guess Big Boss wants this done pretty quick."

"It would be appreciated," Lin said. With that, the young man bade a cheerful farewell and began his investigation. Lin hung up the phone before turning to the two persons in the van. Masako Hara and Hoshou Takigawa still looked to be in deep thought, pondering why their friend had shouted out the name of a snow-clouded spirit where there was obviously no snow.

"Are you certain he said 'Yuki-onna', Takigawa-san?" Hara-san asked. The monk nodded.

"Pretty sure," he said. "Though the question is why would John know about Yuki-onna? He just barely got back into the country and even though he's gotten better about some phrases and sayings over the years we didn't exactly delve into folklore with him. And while he's at the church, he's teaching the kids about church stuff."

"Chi-obaa said that there were other people who have gone missing, the latest having disappeared only two nights ago," Hara-san said. "It's possible that the other men could be alive and have been speculating how to get out of their situation."

"So one of the missing men told him about it?" Bou-san asked. Hara-san shook her head.

"Yuki-onna is more of a story to frighten children. It could be quite possible that the person who told John-san was merely a boy."

"This is the kid's second day of being missing. The chance of us finding alive goes down the longer it takes us to figure this out," Bou-san said. His teeth were grit together and his eyebrows were furrowed. "We're missing something…"

Lin could not help but silently agree. Time was precious and lives were at stake. The other men might be alive as well, but it was with grim reality that he noted the man who had been taken at the beginning of the month— Suzuki Nori, aged twenty five—was most likely dead.

What did they know? Kind men had been taken. Bou-san had almost been taken. Whispers were running about of the perpetrator being Yuki-onna, a female spirit who preyed upon the kindhearted and/or weak willed men.

Lin's eyes narrowed. A spirit or other type of supernatural being that was female and preyed upon unsuspecting males. There was an entire subsection of supernatural phenomena dedicated to the topic, was there not? He opened a browser on his laptop to make sure his thoughts were not off-base.

A list of creatures and folklore was at his fingertips in moments. Siren, Enchantress, Undine, Lilith, Mohini, Succubus, the list went on and on. Perhaps Yuki-onna was the young boy's way of saying that they had been lured into her grasp and were currently unable to escape. Lin wondered what could be keeping the men where they were. Was the ghost that powerful? Was she manipulating them?

"Bou-san, when you were following the sound of crying, what did the area around you look like?" Lin asked.

"Sorry?"

"Were you able to see the alleyway, the other men, or even the girl?" Lin clarified. The monk fell into thought, thinking back on his experience.

"It got really dark really quick. I remembered not being able to see anything and had to feel my way around. I just kept shouting so the girl would hear me."

"And Brown-san communicated with you after you had started shouting?"

"Yeah, but it was kinda hard to hear him. Almost like he was pretty far off. What are you getting at?"

"Perhaps the men who are lured inside can't find their way out again. Akin to when a dominant spirit prevents more submissive or weaker spirits from finding the light."

"She has the power to blind them?" Hara-san asked. Lin nodded.

"Or at least prevent them from seeing light in some way. We have no way of knowing exactly what they're going through and even this theory is mere speculation."

"But the fact is that if I went in again, I'd be going in blind," the monk said. "I have no idea if my chant would hit the ghost or if it would hit a person. I'm not sure if that's a risk we can take, given how weak those guys must be. They might not live through it."

"I would prefer to try reasoning with the spirit first," Hara-san said. Lin was not surprised that the girl would prefer the most peaceful of methods to deal with the problem. "It's very likely that she's alone and scared. I felt uneasy, but I did not sense malicious intent."

"If we are to try that, we need to know the name of the spirit—if it is indeed only a spirit—first. If we're dealing with anything else, we must be prepared to face the fact that we will either have to destroy her or leave the men behind and consult an expert," Lin said. He knew that the girl saw the spirits as fellow people and having her at least try would be beneficial for all. "We should wait for Yasuhara-san's research to come in."

"Heh, knowing Shonen, he'll come through sure enough," Bou-san said.

* * *

Yasuhara turned his head while he sneezed so as not to infect anyone with germs. He wiped his nose with a handkerchief as he walked down the street. He had been able to verify that the disappearances had only started in December, but quickly found out the strange events had been long ongoing. After a bit of digging, flirting, and much flattery, Yasu was able to tell roughly how long the occurrences had been happening.

For the past year, men had been getting turned around and confused in this area. Usually, their friends and family tended to chalk up the experience to lack of communication to ask for directions or did not know because they had not been told about the slight misadventure. A few had shared their experiences and a young boy had said that he was told not to talk to strangers. This led to Yasu interrogating the boy's father.

"A car accident?" Yasu asked. "How long ago?"

"Maybe about a year. My wife kept insisting we take food to the family of the only person who died. They're nice people and I'm sorry they went through that."

"I went through the newspapers and didn't see any mention of a car accident."

"No, you wouldn't," the man replied, his arms folded. "The family just wanted to grieve in peace and I can't say I blame them. There was a small memorial service and that was it. Things just went back to normal."

"Who all knew about the crash?"

"Just the people who were here when it happened, I think," the man said. "My wife was there, so I know about it. Chi-obaa from across the alleyway knows about it because she was watching her grandkids. Obviously the Nakamuas knew about it, he was the first responder."

"Do you happen to know who died? I need to gather as much information as possible," Yasu asked, taking great care not to sound insensitive. If the man did not answer, he would merely scan the newspapers again for the memorial service he mentioned. Or go to the booking house to gather information there.

Thankfully, neither of those options were necessary.

"A young girl named Chihiro. The family moved away about a month ago, so there's no way you're getting ahold of them."

"I see. Thank you for your time," Yasu said, bowing slightly. The man waved him off the property and guided his young son into the house. Yasu punched the information into his phone. He had a first name, but nothing else.

He could get more information. This time, things would probably be a lot easier.

* * *

"Hang in there!" a voice said. It was weak and wavering, but behind it was such sorrow. John could not put a face to the voice. He had not been able to see ever since he had entered the alleyway and found the sobbing child. She had clung to him tightly and had not let go of him, taking his sight away for good measure. Ever since then, he had been unable to tell anything apart, having to rely on his heightened senses of hearing and touch to do anything.

"I can't…"

"Tokkiko-san, don't give in," John said, joining the first in encouragement. "I have friends who will find us. Please just wait a while longer!"

"I've been here for a week and a half, foreigner," the voice said. "I can't hold out anymore."

"Tokkiko-san!" the younger voice cried out. "You can't die yet!"

"I'm sorry. Split the water that the foreigner brought in for yourselves and stick together."

"Tokkiko-san!"

"You're so loud…"

"You can't die! Don't close your eyes! Tokkiko-san! Tokkiko-san!"

John heard grunts next and knew that his young friend was attempting to wake their elder. John fumbled around for a bit before his fingers found the fabric of the man's shirt. He joined in the efforts to wake the man who had been protesting weakness since before he had arrived. They both shook at the man and it was not long before the boy was crying loudly.

"Tokkiko-san!"

* * *

"Pass," Yui said, pointing to Oliver. "Your turn to answer something."

"This isn't much of a game if you don't answer anything, Yui," Mai said, trying to keep the peace. Oliver looked as though he were attempting to crumble the girl's stubbornness and the child appeared to be trying to see how best to grate on his nerves. If either were succeeding in their endeavors, it was obviously little Yui. "You have to answer at least one."

"Fine, but not that one!" Yui declared. Mai sighed and thought of another question to ask the girl. In truth, the random game of answering questions in circles had been her idea. One would think she might at least play fairly.

"What's your favorite breakfast?" Mai asked, deciding to go with something generic.

"Omelets and fish!" Yui declared. The woman rose an eyebrow. A weird answer, but it was an answer. "Daddy! When did you start ghost hunting?"

"Pass," Naru said. Mai grinned sheepishly. It seemed as though he were going pass the same amount Yui had. Though why he was competing with a five-year-old, Mai had no idea. "Kazi, where did you learn English?"

_Tell them our father taught me._

"Kazi says daddy taught him! Our daddy at home did," Yui said. Her clarification was given before it could be asked for. Naru nodded at the answer and they all waited for Kazi to ask his question.

_Yui, ask mommy how she learned to sing._

"Kazi wants to know how you learned to sing!" Yui announced. Mai felt the tips of her ears go red, but saw no reason as to why she should not answer.

"My mother sang to me when I was little. I'm not very good at it, though," Mai said. She turned back to Kazi. "Why won't you talk to us?"

_Pass._

"Kazi says he passes," Yui said, though it was not as loud as normal. Mai looked over to Naru to see if he could make any sense of the children's sudden hesitancy. From the expression on his face—no smirk or blank face, but rather a contemplative look—she supposed he was as educated as she on this matter.

_Can you ask father why he gets a funny look on his face when he thinks?_

Instead of translating the question instantly as she had been doing since the game had begun, Yui bit her lip. Mai struggled to keep her face looking adequately confused and not laugh.

_I'm not gonna say that to daddy!_

_It's my question, though, and he can't hear me!_

_No._

_Please, Yu—_

_Fine!_

"Kazi wants to know why you look funny," Yui mumbled. Naru rose an eyebrow at the young boy and if Mai had no clue that he could hear the children already, she would have thought that he had only heard Yui's translation. The look on his face was so perfectly curious and slightly offended.

_Only when he's thinking! Yui, Yui, Yui, Yui—_

_Stop calling me that!_

_Then fix it!_

"He's saying that you look funny when you think," Yui rectified. Mai was doing her gosh darnedest to not laugh. It was barely working.

"I do not look peculiar when I am in thought," Naru said. His eyes were cool orbs of blue and his mouth did not give way to a twitch of laughter or frowning. He was stoic. Kazi appeared to want to say something else, but somehow let it go. Still, the boy let the matter drop with a smile on his face. Mai wanted to know why, but it was Naru's turn to ask Yui a question. "Who taught you how to communicate with your brother? You're too accurate to merely be guessing."

"Pass."

* * *

"Strange that she won't take us when we're not alone… And she's not even interested in Masako," Bou-san said as they finished putting the third camera into position. With a normal camera, a night vision camera, and a third camera that could toggle between the two settings yet ate up too much battery power to be efficient. All three of them had mics that were constantly filtering out white noise.

"This is information we already had," Lin-san said. "We might learn more when Yasuhara-san checks in with his research."

"I hope so. The thing about Yuki-onna is that she sounds like she should be imitating a grown and beautiful woman…" Bou-san said. "So why is it that when I heard her, all I heard was a lost, scared, and confused little girl?"

"Maybe because that's exactly what you heard."

Bou-san jumped about a foot into the air when he heard the voice of a certain Shounen behind him. The poor bassist massaged his heart as he turned to the bespectacled youth. "Some habits just don't die, do they, Shounen?"

"As eternal as my love for you, Bou-san," the young man said. Bou-san could not be sure if the boy winked or not behind those eerie glasses of his. Sometimes he could play at this game, and other times he was certainly not in the mood. Tonight, he was in no mood to play such games.

"You gotta quit teasing your elders like that, Shounen," Bou-san said, clapping the young man on the back. "In any event, what did you find? And how did you get here without being taken?"

"We should return to the van first," Lin-san said. The cameras were all secure, unable to budge an inch. Nothing short of purposeful human vandalism would get them to move. Bou-san and Shounen nodded at the idea, knowing it was a good idea to have everyone present when the information was released.

"The monitors are set up in here," Masako said when the group of men entered the van. Due to the shortage of space, the two who would take up the least amount of room sat with the monitors in the back. Lin-san and Bou-san took the driver and passenger seats, respectively.

"Thank you, Hara-san," Lin said. "Yasuhara-san, what have you found out?"

"According to my research, there have been three accidents in this area in the past twenty-five years. Only one of them caused a fatality, Chihiro Haneki, who was four at the time of her death." Masako's sharp intake of breath could be heard and Bou-san did not blame her. To die so young… "In my research, Chihiro-san is the only one who has died in the area and she died last year."

"Last year? Then why haven't the disappearances been going on longer?" Bou-san asked, scratching his head.

"Spirits are not initially powerful. Instead, they tend to be more lost and confused than anything else," Masako said. "It could be possible that she merely has not had enough energy until now to cause lasting harm. However, to gain so much energy within a year… Do you know if anything could have triggered such a reaction, Yasuhara-san?"

"Well, after I got a name, I did a bit more digging. Her family actually lived here until the beginning of December, when the family had to move due to a promotion in her father's job. I was actually able to contact them on the phone and gather a few more details."

"You got the new number of the family?" Bou-san asked. He was at once impressed and somewhat freaked out. "When do your talents of investigation and stalkery end?"

"I'll leave that to your imagination," the young man replied. He shifted his glasses before continuing with what he had discovered. "In any event, her father told me that if I leaked one word of this to the press, he would do unspeakable tortures towards me, so this obviously this entire event stays between us."

Bou-san would have commented on the irony of the young man fearing the father of a girl he was not dating, but chose to remain silent. This was serious business, he reminded himself as he nodded his head. The others also nodded in agreement.

"Haneki-san would visit the crash site every Saturday, telling his daughter about his day and how hard he was working. When she was alive, she had always asked for such things. He had used to refuse her, thinking she would be bored, but after learning on how to say it so a child would understand, it had become their time of bonding. Even though he felt guilty and apologized every week to her, he kept coming back to visit without fail. Even when he was sick, he dropped by.

"Reports in the area were that men kept getting lost around here. Just for no reason they'd venture off in the wrong direction and then come back again. It was usually Fridays, so no one thought anything of it. A guy alone on a Friday night with no idea where he's going, people make their own assumptions. But this is a good neighborhood, you and Matsuzaki-san checked it out when Mai-san began talking about living here."

"I remember that," Bou-san said. "There aren't any bars in the area and the people who live here are decent. There shouldn't be lost drunkards or any homeless around here. I mean, yeah homeless are kind of everywhere now, but they don't take kindly to being taken in or anything. I don't think they'd walk in like a drunkard, though. It's right next to a construction zone that hires different people every day, Saturdays included. They can't afford to be drunk Friday nights."

"And since the first disappearance was that of a homeless man, this place has been devoid of them all month," Shounen pointed out. "It wasn't until the second man was gone that people started to realize something was wrong. The authorities were brought in midway through the month—after the third disappearance—but they weren't able to find the victims. No body, no trace, no anything."

"Why did the disappearances start in the first place?" Bou-san asked, bringing the boy backwards a few steps.

"Sorry, I got ahead of myself," Shounen said. He looked through two pages of handwritten notes before he found what he appeared to be looking for. "Even though the disappearances began when the family actually left, the situations actually got worse—as in men were gone for longer periods of time—when her father received her promotion. Again, they would be returned by Saturday, but they would be held all night."

"But why keep them? And why keep looking for more men? There's no way she can be Yuki-onna if she's allowed this many people to escape before," Lin-san said. Bou-san could say that the man had a point.

"Perhaps we will know more after a séance," Masako said. "Sunset is in one hour, I suggest we all prepare for what might happen."

Even though the monk agreed with the need for precaution, he also felt something else. A nagging worry at the back of his mind. He could only hope that the séance would help them riddle out this mystery and solve their questions. Was this the spirit of Chihiro Haneki? Was this really the legend of Yuki-onna come to life? And even when that question was solved, there was one more quandary that absolutely had to be answered.

Where was John?

Well, make that two.

Where was John? And was he still alive?

_**AmyNChan: Dun dun DUUUUUUN!**_

_**Masako: This is most unkind of you, Chan-san.**_

_**AmyNChan: …I know…**_

_**Masako: Then why do you persist in such actions?**_

_**AmyNChan: Because it's fun and the readers actually eat this stuff up? They like a touch of drama. XD**_

_**Masako: *glares at me***_

_**AmyNChan: *brushes off the Masako glare like a boss***_

_**Masako: Perhaps I'll encourage the readers to **__**not**__** review, simply so I can watch you suffer.**_

_**AmyNChan: You wouldn't!**_

_**Masako: I would.**_

_**AmyNChan: You're evil! QAQ**_

_**Masako: *skeptical look***_


	24. Lost And Found?

_**AmyNChan: I'm not quite satisfied with how this chapter came out, but…**_

_**Mai: After a bit of convincing, she's gonna put it up as is.**_

_**AmyNChan: *grumbles about flow and story***_

_**Naru: Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

"Haru-san, are you all right?" John asked. Due to his obvious lack of vision he could not see what the boy was up to. The young boy had stopped moving a little while ago, a fact that had the priest more than a touch worried for him. His mind turned for the worst before he could help it. "Haru-san?"

"I told you, Haru-san's my dad," the thirteen year old boy reminded him. The sound of his voice caused John to sigh in relief. It was obvious that he was still upset, but the blonde man could not blame him. Tokkiko-san had died in their arms naught but four hours ago. Anyone would be distressed, but he knew they had to hang in there just a little longer.

"Sorry, Walton-san. Are you thirsty?"

"No."

John felt around for something to mark his position, anything really. Perhaps the bricks he had seen on his way in, maybe the difference between cement and grass. His fingers brushed against the fabric of Tokkiko-san's shirt and he flinched. Despite not having ever seen the man's face before, he had known and talked with this man. He had been kind, albeit a touch grouchy and he had used nicknames rather than their actual names. John would make sure he got the proper funeral he deserved once they were able to leave.

"Would you like to discuss it?"

"No…" Walton-san said, his voice quiet and contemplative. John wished he could say something more than he had already. Something to reassure the boy. "John-san?"

"Yes?"

"No one's gonna find us, are they? Your friend from earlier hasn't come back."

The hopelessness in the young boy's voice tugged at John. He had already given up. Bou-san's brief arrival had given them all a small bit of hope, but Tokkiko-san's death had ripped it and more right from the boy. John reached across the cold body to place a hand on Walton-san's warm shoulder.

"They will," John said firmly. "They'll come back for us."

"No they won't…" Walton-san said, but he did not shake John's hand. Still, he found the boy's lack of faith disturbing.

"They will, you'll see."

* * *

"I call upon the spirit of Haneki, Chihiro. Please use this body to tell us what you wish to say," Hara-san said aloud. She and Lin were sitting in the rear of the van encircling a single lit candle, given that they were two spiritualists. One could communicate, another could not defend without a vicious attack on the spirit. Yasuhara-san held a night vision camera as still as he could in the passenger seat and Bou-san stood—or rather, sat in the driver's seat—at the ready with his chants in case the attempt became too dangerous. Lin watched as the medium used deep calming breaths. He remembered Gene mentioning that doing such things helped a medium to quiet the mind while in the presence of spirits.

The candle light flickered.

"Haneki, Chihiro, we wish to speak with you. Please tell us what you have to say," Lin said, as he was told to earlier. Haneki-san would be speaking with Lin using Hara-san, so she had to get accustomed to hearing him talk.

The candle light flickered more so. Hara-san's hands trembled slightly. This was a sign.

"Am I speaking with Haneki, Chihiro-san?" Lin asked. The medium's head bobbed up and down the tiniest of bits. Tears began to spill through her closed eyelids. "Where are you?"

"It's cold… daddy… please… I'm so cold…" The medium's teeth were chattering, her hands beginning to tremble more. "Daddy, I'm lost… you said you'd come and find me… Daddy, it's cold…"

"Your father has been by your side for a year now," Lin said. "Those men you took aren't your daddy. They have families to go home to."

"But Daddy always comes when I cry. Daddy told me so…"

_That was the connection…_ Lin realized. All of the men who had vanished were men who would respond to a child's cry. It was a trait shared by many kind people, and some people simply did not because they were too busy to hear a child crying. Or they simply did not want to. Some people were so sad…

"Would your father be pleased with your actions?" Lin asked. Hara-san's hands were trembling even harder now. Lin was unsure if it was because the ghost felt cold or if it were because they were losing their connection.

_A bit more time…_

"No…" the girl said. Even though she had been crying all along, a few more tears came out.

"Does your father want you to cry?"

"No…"

"Do you want to go to your father?"

For the first time since the possession, Hara-san's eyes snapped open. While they were their normal hue of grey, there was a shine to them. A hope that could not be replicated by any skilled actress. Masako's hands reduced their trembling.

"Can I?"

"If you want. There is a warm light. Do you see it?"

Hara-san's head swiveled around for a moment before focusing on a spot by the doors of the van. The girl did not break her line of sight with that spot. She nodded her head.

"You need to walk towards it. You will be happy there."

The girl turned her head back towards Lin with wide and frightful eyes. The shine was dulled, but not erased. "I'm scared. What if I'm not happy?"

"You will be, there's no need to be afraid."

"Can you hold my hand?"

Lin wished the girl had not asked, but if this was what it took to make her pass on and find the missing men, so be it. He nodded and the girl clamped tightly onto his hand. He was surprised by her strength, but did not let it show.

Hara-san's body stood up, and her method of walking was rather humorous. A four-year-old walking in a teenager's body tends to be slightly comical, after all. However, Lin could say nothing as he was also forced to his feet and moved to bend so he could walk in the back of the van. If the lack of space had been uncomfortable beforehand, it was nothing compared to now.

"It's warm…" Hara-san said as she reached the doors. Lin, on the other hand, felt a cool breeze enter through the slight gap in the doors. A smile crossed her features and the tears slowed to a gentle halt. "I feel happy. Can I…?"

"Walk into it," Lin encouraged. Hara-san took a deep breath before smiling at him.

"Thank you, mister not-Daddy. I'll be going now."

As soon as Hara-san walked up to the doors of the van, she collapsed into a heap. Lin moved her so she would be lying comfortably on the floor of the van and turned to the other two men, both of whom were already moving to action.

"Now we find Brown-san and the others. Yasuhara-san, send the video to Noll and then join us when you've finished," Lin ordered as he grabbed two torches. He passed one off to Bou-san and the two went out into the night, searching for the missing men.

"On it, Lin-san!"

* * *

Mai awoke to the sound of the normal hospital ambiance. There were sirens of a late night ambulance outside—slightly muffled by the walls. There were not any machines in the room, but there was still a sort of eerie hum about the place.

The nurses had brought in extra beds for Naru and Mai to sleep upon, but the children had not handled the thought of separation—even if only by a few feet during the night—well. When everyone had brushed their teeth and readied for bed, the children had tried to sneakily push the new beds together so they could sleep with both adults at once. That had been halted by a flustered Mai and an ever-so-slightly-embarrassed Naru.

The black haired man had only allowed the children to sleep with them on the condition that Yui sleep with Mai on her bed and Kazi sleep with himself on a separate bed. Mai had been required to play as translator, saying that boys did sleepovers with boys and girls did sleepovers with girls.

Yui had only given her an eye roll, but the children had complied and had fallen into a deep sleep by nine o'clock. That was three hours ago by the look of the clock in the room. Mai yawned and stretched, wondering what on earth was messing with her sleeping schedule.

A cold foot against her thigh startled her for a moment and she realized what it was that had woken her up. She turned around to note that Yui had snuggled up behind her back as she slept. The little girl had an iron grip on the back of her shirt and Mai was too tired to pry her off. She merely lay in bed lazily, her eyes scanning the sky through their window for anything exciting.

"It's New Year's Eve… and the fireworks don't start for another hour…" Mai mused aloud. She spoke softly, so as to not wake anyone else in the room.

"They wouldn't have fireworks so close to a hospital."

Mai jumped a little at the sound of Naru's voice. She had not expected him to be awake. She had been absolutely _sure_ that he would get some rest. She glared in the direction of his and Kazi's bed, trying to think of some way she could either play off her fright or hope that he had not seen her jump.

"What are you doing up?" she ended up asking lamely.

"I received a video an hour ago from Yasuhara-san. The spirit has been cleansed."

"Really?" Mai wondered aloud. "That was quick…"

"Time is of the essence."

"I know that, but usually it takes us another day or so to get all the information we need."

"True. This case was easily solved…"

"What about the men who disappeared?" Mai asked curiously. "Have they been found?"

"Not yet. Takigawa-san and Lin are keeping me updated on the search."

"Oh."

Unconscious little Yui seemed to choose that exact moment to push her terribly frigid toes upon Mai's poor, unsuspecting back. She instinctively wiggled away from the onslaught of cold, shuddering the whole way.

"Don't you dare laugh at me, jerk!" Mai hissed as quietly as she could upon the offending sound. But then it struck her. "You're…laughing?"

"I believe the appropriate word is chuckling," Naru said, all traces of the laughter just moments beforehand completely gone. Mai craned her neck to view his bed. His face was infuriatingly just beyond her line of vision.

"You chuckle?"

Mai watched as Naru actually expended the effort to put his head in her line of vision. Of course, it was only to glare at her. Mai held up her hands in mock surrender.

"Be fair, I've heard Yui laugh more than you," Mai said aloud. There had been a few instances where she had _thought_ she had heard him laugh, but those had surely been her imagination.

Right?

The young girl in question shuffled around on the bed a bit more, moving the blanket around and eventually taking it away. When the cold air assaulted Mai, she bolted upright in bed and turned to look at the perpetrator.

She looked like an angel when asleep, but Mai could swear she was smirking at the fact that she had taken the blanket away.

"Blanket hog…" Mai muttered as she attempted to reclaim the cloth of warmth.

"You two have been fighting over that blanket ever since you fell asleep," Naru noted.

"You were watching us sleep?" Mai asked, still trying to take at least a little bit of the blanket back for herself. Yui kept rolling around, effectively making herself into a sushi roll.

"Unless I wanted to wake Kazi, I could not turn on a light to read or leave the bed. Therefore, you two were the only source of entertainment I had."

"Naru needed to be entertained?" Mai asked aloud, not bothering to hide her sarcasm. She was tired. She wanted to sleep. She wanted part of her blanket back.

"Even I get bored."

Mai gave up. She flopped on the bed with a groan. Hospitals were _cold_ and she no longer had a blanket. "Well, I'm glad my misfortune is good for _somebody_."

She could _feel_ his smirk from across the room.

* * *

John's eyelids were heavy and his head was pounding. What was he doing? Where was he? It was too cold to be Australia…

"…ohn! Lin-san, call 1-1-9!"

He was tired. Darkness reclaimed him.

* * *

"Where did you find them?" Masako asked from the passenger seat. Lin-san was in the ambulance with John and the young boy, both of whom were unconscious.

"They were right behind the building," Bou-san said. His eyes were focused on the road, but his mind replayed what he had stumbled upon over and over again. "If they had walked or crawled twenty feet or so, they could have gotten out…"

"Maybe because they couldn't see it, they didn't realize escape was so close," the medium suggested. Bou-san hummed in agreement. It was very plausible, but what would cause John to not explore? Perhaps the fact that there were other men trapped and he knew it was not a good idea to move? Maybe there was someone who could not move? There had been a lot of dead bodies when Bou-san had arrived, after all…

It was eleven p.m. when they arrived at the hospital.

* * *

A brief yet very insistent set of knocks sounded at her door and she wondered who would be paying her a visit so late at night. Of course, it was New Year's Eve so she was awake to try and see the fireworks. They were Walton's favorite part of New Year's and she hoped to be able to tell him all about them when he came home.

She hoped he would be returned quickly. Masako-chan's visit had renewed her hope somehow.

Chi-obaa answered the frantic knocking only to find a young man with grey hair and spectacles gasping for air at her door. She recognized him as Yasuhara Osamu-kun, one of Mai-chan's friends.

"Osamu-kun, it's very late," the elderly woman said as she gestured for him to come in. She was quite puzzled when the boy shook his head and held up a single finger, silently asking for a moment to catch his breath. When he had done so, he looked towards her with a large grin.

"We found Walton-san."

* * *

"Are you serious?" Ayako asked when she saw the waiting room filled with various members from SPR. Her shift had just ended and she had been on her way to check in with Mai and Naru, though she was unsure how she was going to face them without her mind always going back to those obviously faux results.

So a part of her was slightly relieved for the diversion.

"Who got hurt this time?" she continued, eyes scanning over everyone. There was only one person she knew to be on the case who was not there. "Did something happen to Yasu?"

"It's nice to know you care, but that's not who we're waiting for," a voice said from behind. Ayako turned to see the young man walking in with Chi-obaa. The elderly woman looked at the red headed doctor with hope in her eyes.

"Ayako-chan, do you know how my grandson is doing?" she asked. Ayako blinked.

"Your…grandson?"

"Haru, Walton. He was sent to this hospital just before Osamu-kun came and got me. Can you tell me how he's doing?"

"No," Ayako said. Chi-obaa's face fell. "But I can ask for you."

"That would be very much appreciated," Chi-obaa said, hope rekindled in her eyes. Ayako watched as Yasu steered the woman to a chair before turning on her heel and walking back down the hallway she had come from. She made a beeline for the receptionists desk.

"Sorry, Matsuzaki-sensei, the results still haven't changed," the receptionist, Tsubaki, said without even looking up.

"I'm not here about that," Ayako said briskly. "A patient just came in by the name of Haru, Walton. Do you know anything about his condition?"

Tsubaki rummaged through the paperwork for a few moments before finding what she was looking for. "He came in with Brown, John. Both of them are dehydrated and they've been exposed to the cold for too long. Out of the two of them, Haru got the worst of it."

"I see," Ayako said, not realizing that John was in the hospital, let alone in the country. "Will they recover?"

Tsubaki looked over the papers once again.

* * *

A loud sound jarred him from his sleep. Even though he was desperately tired, he could not quite get comfortable and his stomach hurt a lot. Where was he anyway?

He looked to the side and saw a stranger. Who was he? He had never seen this person before. More importantly, how could they sleep through—

_Pop!_

He turned to the other side where the window was. Lights were dissolving in the darkened night sky, shimmering their path into nonexistence. Smoke was a faint trail of dark grey, dissolving in the path of the wind. Another rose to take the place of the first.

_Pop!_

This time, golden streaks flitted against the fabric of darkness. They were bright and beautiful and swiftly dimmed into nothing. So ethereal. They captured his attention.

"Fireworks…" a voice behind him said. A voice that was older than his own. He could only assume it belonged to the strange man in the other bed.

"We're not supposed to light fireworks until New Years…" the boy said. "That isn't for another couple of days…"

"Walton-san, do you remember what happened to you?" the stranger asked. The young boy shook his head.

"Why? What happened?" he asked, turning to look at the man. He was blonde with blue eyes that seemed very concerned. That concern caused Walton to feel fear. "Did…did I do something wrong? Should I know what happened?"

The boy stared intently at the older man. If anyone asked Walton, he was probably twenty. The boy frowned and tried to remember. He had asked his grandma if he could go to the store to get some udon and then…

"Don't."

"Why not?" Walton asked, frowning. John smiled kindly, a smile that seemed to hide pain.

"There are some things you'd be happier not knowing, Walton-san."

* * *

Oliver let a sigh of relief escape him, a muted sound that was blocked out by the popping of fireworks. However, despite the fact that the colorful distractions Mai had sought only an hour ago were right outside her window, the girl seemed to pick up on his intense relief.

"Did they find the men who vanished?" she asked. How did she always seem to know what he was relieved about and when?

"Yes."

"Are they going to be okay?" she asked. Oliver would have shaken his head at the woman. She had no clue who they had found, but she was as concerned for their safety as any close friend. He nodded instead to answer her question.

"They are expected to make a full recovery. Once we leave we are going to pay them a visit."

"Really? We weren't a part of this case, though," Mai said. Oliver felt no need to affirm the obvious.

"Ne, Naru, why would they want to see us if we weren't a part of the case?" He had a feeling she would come to the correct answer.

"Naru?" Eventually.

"Naru, why would they want to see us?"

Whenever she stopped prodding him for the answers long enough to think about it herself… It could take a while.

_**AmyNChan: Eh…if you guys enjoyed this, thanks. If not, I sorry, but it's the best I can do right now. ^^;**_

_**John: Please read and review!**_


	25. Revelations

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I know you're all ready to kill me, but I really tried to get this in ASAP given my circumstances... ^^;**_

_**Mai: Amychan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!**_

"NO ONE TOLD ME YOU WERE IN THE HOSPITAL, JOHN-SAN!" Mai yelled upon entering the room. The blonde priest gave a kindly smile—as always—but she did not care about that. She rounded on Naru with the fiercest glare she could muster, the fires of betrayal being easy to draw energy from. "YOU KNEW AND DIDN'T TELL ME!"

"I apologize for overestimating your ability to deduce that one of your friends had been taken by our conversation last night," Naru said blandly. One look in his eyes told the girl that he was not sorry at all. In fact, he appeared to be amused by her reaction. Amused!

"I—"

"Uncle John!" Yui cried as she and Kazi darted into the room. The night of rest had done them well and their injuries appeared to have healed wonderfully. The four of them had been released that morning and were told to meet up with Ayako later as it appeared that she had some information to tell them.

"Hello young one, who are you?" the blonde haired man asked. Yui frowned and groaned loudly.

"I'm Yui! Second awesome person on earth!" she declared, as if that in and of itself was obvious. Mai knew that John-san would have to adjust to the girl's way of speaking and wished him silent luck with it.

"Pleased to meet you, Yui-chan," John-san smiled despite the child's rude and blunt nature. Mai had missed his kind demeanor for the past year or so. Had it really been that long since she saw him off at the airport?

"Why are you in the hospital?" the girl questioned loudly.

"I got hurt," he explained in a vague manner. Mai felt that any other child would have left it at that.

"How?"

Not Yui, though.

"I was walking and made a detour."

"Well, don't make Aunt Masa worry too much!" Yui declared. "You'll get in trouble, then."

John-san shot a questioning look in Mai's direction, so the woman decided then was the time to intervene and interpret.

"She's talking about Masako-san," she clarified. John-san nodded in understanding. His face gently turned from his look of childlike hospitality to slight worry. His blue eyes pierced Mai as he spoke to her.

"Is everyone here? I want to know how they found us and make sure no one tells Walter-san what happened. It might trigger bad memories..."

"What kind of bad memories—"

_Don't ask, Yui. He won't tell us._ Mai heard Kazi's request given that he was holding onto her hand. He had not quite let go since that morning and Yui had been migrating towards Naru often.

_But I wanna know..._

_You already know, remember? This was __that__ case when Uncle John got kidnapped._

_The one about the disappearances?_

_Yes._

_Awww, I wanted to be a part of that one!_

_I know._

_What fun is—_

"Mai-san?" John-san asked, pulling her back to the present. The woman's eyes widened. She had been so focused on the twins' conversation that she had blocked out everything else that was happening around her. She looked to Naru for a bit of help. Even if he betrayed her by not telling her John was in the hospital, he would not be so evil as to let her figuratively drown.

Right?

"This is Yui and Kazi," Naru introduced the children to John-san, meaning the man must have asked who they were. Mai's eyes opened slightly as she remembered something. She edged closer to John-san and whispered in his ear.

"Whatever you do, don't call him Kazi-kun. He doesn't like it and I don't want to have to search all over the hospital for him when he freaks out," Mai said. John-san appeared confused, but nodded all the same. His expression returned to that of a warm, inviting person rather than one who was talking of serious matters.

"Hello, Yui-chan and Kazi-san," John-san greeted the children with a smile. "How old are you?"

"I dunno," Yui said, shrugging her shoulders. "Everything got really confusing really fast, so I don't know anymore."

"Oh, how did it get confusing?" John-san asked. Mai could hope that the girl would answer, but—

"That's a secret!"

—she was really predictable by now.

"They won't tell us anything either," Mai explained. She looked from the priest to the children, then back to John-san again. She knew the children would say nothing in their presence yet also felt as though leaving them alone in the hospital that had inadvertently accused them of child neglect was a somewhat bad idea.

So she decided to change the topic.

"How long do you think you'll be here?"

"I was told I was being picked up fairly soon by a colleague," John-san explained. Before Mai could riddle out what such a thing meant, the answer came to her.

"Please pardon the intrusion," an elderly voice said as the door to the hospital room opened. Father Tojo walked in with someone else.

"Chi-obaa, what a coincidence to see you here," Mai said, bowing slightly. She felt as though she owed a lot to this woman, but the grandmotherly figure typically waved off her gratitude cheerfully whenever she tried to express it for keeping her friends out of the cold while they waited for her. Occasionally, however, the two would meet up in her apartment and Mai would cook something for the two of them to share. The events were very rare on account of Mai's formerly hectic schedule, but the young woman had hoped to plan another lunch sometime in the week.

"Mai-chan, it's good to see you," Chi-obaa smiled. There was a twinkle in her eye, as though a treasure that had been lost for a long time had finally been recovered. It was a relieved happiness. "I'm here for my grandson. I was told he would be awake today, so I came to visit him."

"Ah, Walton-san, right?" Mai asked. Chi-obaa nodded.

"Yes. And it's a relief to see John-san here as well," the woman said, giving a friendly wave to the priest. John-san waved in return.

"Hello, Chi-obaa-san," John-san smiled. Chi-obaa sighed while Mai chuckled nervously. No matter how often the elderly woman insisted it was simply 'Chi-obaa', the Australian priest would always tack on a '-san' at the end. Old habits just seemed to die hard.

"Brown-kun, are you ready to leave?" Father Tojo asked. The elderly man chuckled which had Mai somewhat confused. "The children have been asking about you and when I told them you had gotten hurt and were in the hospital, everyone asked to pray for Father John."

"That was so kind of them," John-san said. Mai had almost never seen the man smile so brightly.

"Mai and I will be heading out as well," Naru said. Mai's eyes widened. She had not even introduced him to Chi-obaa!

"But—"

"Mai, look at the children."

Mai turned her head to see the kids talking to Walton-san. Or rather, Yui was chatting the ear off of an unconscious Walter-san who appeared to be mildly uncomfortable.

"Yui, Kazi, we're leaving now," Mai stated, hoping to allow Walter-san some rest. Yui looked up at her with a look she could not define and nodded. The look was something that vanished after a moment, but it burned into Mai's mind.

What was that look for?

"We'll see you later, John-san," Mai said cheerfully as she and Naru ushered the children out for the benefit of Walter-san.

* * *

"That's impossible!" Hoshou exclaimed as he looked at his girlfriend. Her red hair flowed as she shook her head.

"I know, but I ran those tests so many times they actually kicked me out of the room," Ayako admitted, biting on her nail just a smidge. "The science says it's true."

"But how?"

"That's what I have to ask them," Ayako admitted. "While I'm talking to them, think you can take the kids somewhere nice?"

"There's a park not far from the office," Houshou said. "I'll keep my cell phone on me so you can call us back."

"Just make sure you don't forget to charge it, old man," Ayako said, the insult flying off her tongue naturally.

"It was one time!"

* * *

Madoka was going through the office, filing away the necessary paperwork for the case. Hospital bills, written accounts of what had transpired, the catalogues of what film had been used and which cameras had gone on the case. The menial sort of tasks she had taken upon herself to do.

The door chime rang above the door, causing Madoka to look up. In walked Noll, Mai-chan, and the entire adorable entourage.

"Madoka!" Mai-chan said. The pinkette knew the girl was surprised at her early arrival into the office. "I thought you'd be catching up on some sleep after that case."

"I didn't go on that one," Madoka replied, setting the papers aside so she could talk to the young brunette easily. "I stayed behind to keep an eye on the office and when it closed up Kojou asked me to make sure Father Tojou made it back to the orphanage safely. After that I kind of got wrapped up with worried children."

"They were all asking about John-san?" Mai-chan questioned. Madoka nodded.

"Yep. They also had a prayer circle at about ten o'clock last night. Most of the kids stayed up for new years, but they ended up praying right through it instead," the pinkette said, a fond smile on her lips. "It was very sweet of them."

"So you weren't able to attend the case because you were at the orphanage?" Noll finally asked. Madoka knew that the little boy understood exactly why she could not have brought herself to leave those children, so she simply nodded.

"Very well."

And without another word, Noll went into his office. Madoka knew that denying her a lecture for not making it to the case was his way of showing respect. For her as a person and for what she was going through. He may not completely understand the emotional implications of her and Kojou's situation, but he knew enough to not bother her about children.

For this she was very grateful and somewhat proud of her student's tact.

"Aunt 'Doka!" Yui yelled as she ran onto the woman's lap. Madoka welcomed her with open arms and a hug. "Aunt Masa called mom and she won't tell me what she said!"

"Oh? You mean Mai-chan isn't telling you what you want to know?" the pinkette said aloud, her curious nature overemphasized. Yui nodded rapidly.

"It's horrible! She won't tell the second-awesome person in the world what's going on!"

"My, that _would_ be horrible, wouldn't it, Mai-chan?" Madoka asked, bringing the slowly steaming brunette into the conversation. The girl blinked questioningly in Madoka's direction so she chose to expound upon her statement. "To have questions and not get them answered would just be so _cruel_, wouldn't it?"

"Oh yes," Mai-chan agreed, seeming to understand where Madoka was going with all of this. "Very cruel."

"That's why you should tell me!" Yui stated, looking up from the pink haired woman's embrace. She had been in the midst of attempting to pin Mai-chan with a glare—where did she learn to glare like that?—when she suddenly turned to her brother. "Nu-uh!"

Yui and Kazi then went off on one of their silent conversations. While the children were distracted with one another, Madoka turned her attention to Mai's face. Her hand was on Kazi's head and she appeared to be privy to the conversation the researcher could not hear. Her eyes flicked from Yui to Kazi and then back to Yui once more.

_Interesting_.

The phone decided then would be the best moment to make itself known, ringing as loudly and as suddenly as possible. The children were jerked out of their stare down as Madoka took the receiver off the cradle.

"This is Shibuya Psychic Research," the woman answered. Tacking on 'how can we help you' had been deemed unprofessional a while back and after a particular case with a lecherous ghost the researcher could understand why.

"Madoka-san!"

"Ayako," the pinkette said, surprise coloring her own tone. "How are you?"

"I'm pretty good. Would Mai and Naru happen to be in the office? They were released from the hospital this morning."

"Mai-chan's right in front of me and Noll's in his office."

"Perfect. Can you keep them there?"

"Of course, who do you think I am?" the pinkette woman asked. She matched Yui's curious gaze with one of her own, playing the girl's game as she kept her voice professional for the phone.

"Right. We'll be there in about an hour."

"Okay, see you then."

"See you then."

Madoka replaced the receiver without taking her eyes off of Yui, who was glaring with surprising ferocity. The woman was used to such glares, however, and tackled the problem easily.

"Erm, what did Ayako want, Madoka?" Mai-chan asked. Madoka broke the glaring contest to answer the girl with a smile.

"She just wanted to make sure you and Noll were in the office. She's dropping by."

"Oh, good," Mai-chan said, though Madoka could tell the smile was a little off. Nervous, perhaps? Whatever for? "The nurse said Ayako had something to tell us..."

_Oh_. Madoka smiled sympathetically, but her mind was in full force.

_This should be interesting._

* * *

Oliver was in the middle of going through paperwork. He had missed quite a few messages and case calls due to his forced miniature 'vacation'. An error that would be rectified shortly.

It took no less than thirty minutes to complete the work that had trickled in overnight and throughout the morning. Papers were sorted, emails returned, a worried mother who had seen hospital bills consoled, business sifted through as real versus fake and interesting versus not. Normal routine work that would have been sorted through as it came in had he been in the office at all yesterday.

Yesterday...

"_Naru, I know that you're vain and you don't exactly have the best manners. I know that you don't like a lot of noise and that you don't always let people around you know what's going on inside your head. I know you can get picky with your tea and that you don't appreciate it when people embarrass you or tell you what to do. But you have a good heart and that's good enough for me. You're just a bit of an idiot scientist, that's all."_

Mai had said such things. About him. Knowing exactly what he was like.

He took a deep breath. _He_ knew many things. He knew that if she were in danger he would run to her defense. He knew that if she lost that temper that made her Mai he would do everything in his power to bring it back again. He knew that if she cried he would not know what to do but that he would _try_ to stop the tears. Even if it meant making her angry instead.

He knew that over the past four years she had grown in thought and body, but he also knew that the Mai he had known was still there. She had just grown a bit. He knew that she sometimes did not see his efforts to keep her happy since he tended to work in indirect routes and that fact sometimes frustrated him.

He knew he enjoyed their dinner when it was just the two of them. He knew he enjoyed speaking with her and debating with her. He knew that while he had an aversion to touch that was within his personality and fostered through his psychometric visions he would allow Mai to come close. He knew from their experience in the hospital that Mai's touch was a calming thing for him, rather than the irritant he had expected it would be. He had not let her close enough to find out the last time he was here.

He knew he wanted her close. He knew he wanted her to lean on him when she needed help.

The only catch was he knew she would expect him to lean on her in return.

He feared she would snap under a burden as large as he. After all, when she had taken only a fraction of his energy going into Kazi's room, she had looked so frail.

"Naru," Mai said from the other side of the door. "Ayako's here to talk to us. You should come out."

"No, Mai, we should take this into his office. No one's going to go in there." Matsuzaki-san's voice sounded cautionary from the other side of the door. Oliver bid them both to enter and his eyes flashed quickly over to Mai.

So frail.

* * *

The door was shut behind the three and Naru invited them to take a seat. Mai took the seat to the left while Ayako decided the seat to the right would suit her better. She could see both of the young people easily. The folder was on her lap and she wondered what was the best way to break the news.

"Is there a reason in particular that you chose to disclose this information in my office rather than the perfectly suitable lobby?" Naru asked, that condescending voice of his raising ire from Ayako. She frowned at the young boss.

"Client confidentiality," she returned.

"Did something go wrong with the blood tests?" Mai asked. Her forehead creased in worry. Ayako released a snarky chuckle.

"I wish."

"Then I would assume that something about the test results is confusing you."

Why couldn't that brat just stop with the super mind tricks and figuring out everything like a freaking boss? He may have been the boss of SPR, but that did not give him the right to always guess correctly!

"Your blood tests came up clean of any drugs which is why the hospital did not notify you of any anomalies," Ayako stated, pulling the manila folder from her lap. She decided it was better to just get it over with. "But when we compared the results to _each other_, something came up."

"You're not gonna tell me that I'm his long-lost sister or anything, are you?" Mai asked a little nervously. Naru's look of skepticism was not lost, but Ayako could have sworn...

He could not have possibly been nervous. No way.

"Nothing like that, but you two are gonna have to be the ones to explain this to the others because I have no clue why this showed up on ten separate tests," Ayako said as she passed the results to Naru. She trusted him to have the logical and calm reaction. Leave the flipping out to Mai.

"What? What is it?"

Mai's questioning went unheard. Ayako was watching Naru's face. That was the angriest she had seen him go ever. His eyes were cold and the room was getting colder. She suddenly wished she had passed the information off to Mai instead. At least she was not a walking thermostat!

"Your humor, Matsuzaki-san, is lacking severely."

"What's the paper say?" Mai asked. She stood and reached across the desk. Both women were shocked when the boy gave it up without a fight, but Mai was too driven by her curiosity to be held back by such a thing.

"Fifty-two percent, forty-seven percent, seventy-five percent... What's all of this mean?" Mai asked as she scanned the paper, becoming more confused by the second. She looked to either person for help before she saw something in the corner of the paper.

Parental Match Confirmed

Mai blinked.

What?

_**AmyNChan: Okay, so why I couldn't get onto this sooner was I was preparing for a trip to Italy. It's a choir tour and I'm really excited for it so I hope you'll all wish me luck and pray that I don't fall and die or something in a foreign country. ^^;**_

_**John: That means it'll take her a bit longer to write, but she ain't givin' up, mates. *smiles charmingly***_

_**AmyNChan: *hugs John* How do you do this every time...?**_

_**John: Amy-san?**_

_**Masako: *barely concealed anger* Please don't read and review in order to teach Chan-san about stealing.**_

_**John: Amy-san, you stole?**_

_**AmyNChan: NO! Masako, I'm not—**_

_**Masako: *turns away angrily***_

_**AmyNChan: But—!**_

_**Masako: *ignoring me***_


	26. Food for Thought

_**AmyNChan: Okay, I know it's been a while, but this took me quite a while to complete. ^^;**_

_**Naru: In other words, she is attempting to figure out how to draw this to a close without going too quickly.**_

_**AmyNChan: Naru!**_

_**Naru: It's accurate.**_

_**AmyNChan: grrrr... I don't own Ghost Hunt~! *^_^***_

"…and then we went to the park, but there were a few ghosts there so we didn't stay for too long," jou-jou-chan explained as she, doji-kun, and Bou-san continued to walk around outside. Jou-jou-chan was running on ahead and talking at the same time, telling of their last trip to a park such as this.

"Let me guess, your dad pulled you out of here?" the monk questioned as he kept to his steady pace. It seemed as though only the young girl was filled with an abundance of energy as doji-kun kept to his side fairly well.

"He did when mom fell over," she said. Bou-san noticed her frown, but felt something more than frustration from her telling the story. Nostalgia, perhaps? Homesickness? It would not surprise him. "He's always gets kinda mad when she does that."

The blonde monk was about to reply when the child whipped around to face her brother, who appeared to be merely taking a stroll.

"You guys don't get it! It's hard when you have that many ghosts around!"

This exclamation did not even faze the monk. He simply kept his ears open for more clues as the seemingly one-sided conversation gave him more information to work with.

It seemed that he and the old hag were onto something after all. But could it really be possible?

* * *

"Ayako, what's this supposed to mean?" Mai finally asked. The room was growing colder by the second.

"You tell me," the red-haired mother figure returned with equal puzzlement. And even Mai could tell the frustration that lined her voice. "Look, Mai. I've been by your side as your primary doctor for four years. Before that, Naru was still here in Japan, but you guys were nowhere _near_ close enough to be considering that kind of relationship. Even Hoshou thinks—"

"You told Bou-san?" Mai groaned. Whatever happened to 'client confidentiality'?

"I don't keep secrets from him, Mai. And you know he was bound to figure it out sooner or later. This was the same man who figured out that Naru was Oliver Davis."

"Yeah, with Yasu and John helping him out!"

"That's beside the point."

"You shouldn't have told him… That wasn't even—Naru, not all of us have jackets here!" Mai complained as she turned to the young man. The rapidly disappearing warmth was too efficient to be the air conditioning and as far as she knew simply messing with the temperature was not enough to warrant a trip to the hospital.

'As far as she knew' being the operative words.

"Run the tests again," Naru said, his expression as tough as stainless steel. His eyes were the hardest stone, his expression pure obsidian. Mai found herself more attentive and on-edge around that sort of face. Especially since the expression was on Naru's face.

"Naru, I've run these ten—"

"Run them again!"

"Look here, boy! I've already run them—"

"Then the machines are wrong! These results are wrong! The only possible way this could be correct is wrong!"

"I ran them—"

"Run them again!"

"Ayako," Mai interrupted before things could get out of hand. She tried to take control of the conversation before Naru really blew a gasket. Surprisingly, he halted long enough for her to press on. Before the adrenaline wore off. "How many times did you run them?"

"Ten times!" the red-headed doctor cried out. She turned to Mai, responsibility weighing on her shoulders. "And I was going to run them an eleventh time but they kicked me out of the lab because I was using the machinery for 'personal interests'!"

"They _kicked you out_?"

"Yes! I can't run any more tests and the trees know how much I want to run them again but I _can't_!" Ayako huffed out. "Mai, believe me, I don't think it's realistically possible but the scientific evidence is telling me it's true!"

"Could the machine have had an off-day yesterday? Or maybe the samples got switched up?" Mai asked tentatively. She already knew that her question sounded silly, but there were times when machines messed up. To her dismay, Ayako shook her head. Naru's scoff at her idiotic question was surprisingly absent.

"That thing was just tuned up last week. It's in perfect condition. Also, the samples we got from you match the samples we took last year and I _know_ you haven't been up to any sort of shenanigans," she said. Mai felt her face flush at the implication before her mother figure continued. "Mai, is there _anything_ you're not telling us about those kids? Anything at all?"

"What do you mean?" But Ayako knew her... There was no way she could think—

"You told us that Eugene-san brought the kids to your apartment, but did he ever say where he got them from?" Ayako asked. Mai cleared her mind of all the embarrassing thoughts and semi-accusations to think back on the night just eleven days ago. The information she had gotten from Gene had consisted of mainly who the children were, not where he had picked them up from.

"Neither of us knew who their parents were. I just kinda took them in…" the young woman admitted.

"And they trusted you both just like that?" Ayako asked. Mai thought about it. Yes, they were young, but their parents should have taught them to avoid strangers. And they had been with her for eleven days and running, yet they seemed perfectly at ease with the lifestyle Mai was leading. Yui called her Mom and Kazi had said on the first day that she made them feel safe. On another point, she and Naru could understand their telepathic connections when they used the link just recently created just between the two of them. If those kinds of things were enhanced by genetics that was one more behavioral evidence to say…

"But it's not possible… Naru and I haven't— I mean there's no way we could have—"

"We all know that, Mai. I do not doubt the integrity of either of you. The tests came back saying that you _both_ were the parents and as I said before that realistically can't be the case," Ayako said. Mai cast a glance at Naru to see that he was elbow-deep in thought. Not the calm contemplative thought that he got on most cases, but the type of thought she had seen on the Urado case. His brow was creased and his hand covered a portion of his face. He focused so intently on his desk that she was afraid for it.

Could inanimate objects be destroyed from a single glare? Burst into flames? Be chilled into fragile ice? Mai gulped.

"So what does this mean?" Mai finally asked, tearing her eyes away from the black haired man. She was trying so hard not to blush at all of this talk. Of having children with Naru.

She doubled her efforts to keep the red down now that she had directly said the words in her head.

"It means that either medicine is failing us or those children shouldn't exist."

* * *

"I really thought you were more mature than this, Madoka." Lin sighed as he watched his wife continue to listen at Noll's door. The pink haired woman waved off his words.

"Hold on a moment," she said absentmindedly. This statement was enough to cause Lin to turn his head. Takigawa-san had taken the children out to the park fifteen minutes ago when he and Matsuzaki-san had arrived. Given that Yasuhara-san was not technically employed here had not arrived yet to fill out the paperwork, only the two of them remained in the front part of the office. Lin himself had only come out of his place of work to grab himself a cup of tea.

Suddenly, Madoka stood. Though it was not the hurried type of scurry he had seen her accomplish when she was not in the mood to be caught by whomever she was eavesdropping on, it was a slow thing. Gradual, like a lioness stalking its bird of prey. Her hair hung in her face and Lin simply knew she was troubled.

"Madoka, what did you hear?" he asked. She said nothing as she walked calmly to her desk. She pulled out her laptop and began to boot it up. Lin moved closer that he might be able to prod an answer from her. He would normally let her be, but her change in attitude seemed so sudden. It was unnerving.

"I'm checking Yasu-kun's theory," she stated. Lin blinked.

"You know that can't be real."

"Can't it?"

Her voice was so devoid of emotion. So colorless. Lin had no idea what to do. Even when faced with a hopeless cause she found reason to smile. Even when the doctors had told her she would never be a mother she had found it in herself to say that she would try to her dying breath to conceive. Angry Madoka he could deal with. Plotting Madoka he lived with. Happy Madoka he loved dearly. Somber Madoka he would be there for.

Emotionless Madoka he only knew one thing to do.

He set his fresh cup of tea at her desk. While the laptop continued to boot, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the side of her head. No one was in the office to watch, so it was fine.

"Tell me if you find anything out," he said. His wife nodded and he returned to his office, concentration slipping and with nothing gained from his short excursion.

* * *

"I see, so they kicked you out of the church?" Masako asked. She and John were walking slowly around the hospital. She had insisted that walking at a leisurely pace was more becoming of a lady but they both knew she was doing so in courtesy of John-san, who was still regaining strength.

"Hara-san, you make it sound as if they're going to excommunicate me," the young man laughed. His blonde hair was mussed and he walked a bit too slowly, but she was fine here with him. She smiled in return.

"I wasn't aware they gave such authority to children," she returned.

"If that was the case I doubt anyone would be excommunicated," John-san agreed. He looked at the ground, his smile dimming into one of somberness and thoughtfulness. "But… I wonder if that would be a good thing."

_What an odd thing to say…_

"God's love is meant for everyone and we're all free to return to His love even after our own shortcomings. Excommunication seems as though we as humans are passing judgment onto our peers, taking up places above our fellow sinners to decide who goes to Heaven or Hell," he continued. Masako's eyes widened.

"I wouldn't expect such musings to come from a Catholic priest," she said earnestly. John-san blinked before looking to her. She then realized what she had said could be taken poorly. She moved to correct her mistake. "I mean, such a thing is tradition in the religion, is it not? Extreme, but always there. And then there's confession to a priest himself? Is that not the same?"

_That sounds even worse!_

"I mean, I'm not judging your religion, it just seems that such a point of view is contradictory. A priest looking down on the judging of others when the religion seems to judge all."

_Oh no… even worse!_

"That's not to say that I think you're a judgmental person, merely that I found your reasoning odd for a person in your position."

_I need to stop talking!_

"But your position isn't bad, it merely…"

"Hara-san?"

"Merely…"

_What can I say? I've surely offended him deeply! But he's one of my friends…_

The petite medium covered her face with her kimono. Such an action helped to cover the fact that she was biting her lip. When had she ever rambled in such a manner? When had she been so concerned with what others thought of her? She could twist anything into a compliment to help her keep going, so anyone could say anything they wanted about her and it would not get under her skin.

But this…

"Hara-san?" John-san looked troubled. It was her fault. He was just out of the hospital regaining his stamina when she verbally attacked his character, religion, and the lifestyle he had lived for so long. His beliefs shaped him, just as hers did. And she had troubled him by saying such horrible things to his face.

"Merely…"

Why could she not say anything new?

"Masako?"

An Australian accent. Her name was spoken with a heavy lilt and seemed to snap her out of her rut of thinking. She turned to her companion on this stroll to see that his eyes were still a vibrant blue and his mouth had taken on a frown.

What had she done?

He continued to speak in English, though she hardly noticed the difference. Due to her travels, she could understand either language fluently. As well as Chinese, Italian, and French.

"Please don't worry yourself," he said soothingly. She could not help but heed his words. "It makes sense for you to think that. I'm an exorcist, and as you know exorcists must acquire the status of priest or higher in order to become one within the traditional Church."

Masako nodded. She already knew this. Shibuya-san had been the first to point such things out on their first investigation as a disjointed team. Everyone had been confused at how such a young man could already have gained the title of priest and moved on to be an exorcist.

"I'm sorry that I didn't realize people were assuming me to be a priest."

* * *

"Hey, now," Uncle Bou-san said. Yui did not care at the moment. She did not care about anything at the moment. She was right and she was going to prove it!

"It's true! Your abilities are a lot more trouble than mine are!" she shouted. Kazi frowned.

_They are not! You keep getting dragged off by ghosts or their memories! And because I share a head with you half of the time, I see it, too!_

"So what?" Yui yelled. "I get dragged off and you can't do anything without me!"

_Yes I can!_

"No, you can't! If you tried you'd end up in the hospital again! The only reason we made it this far was because of me!"

_We are __stuck__ in 1996!_

"Nineteen ninety-seven!" the girl corrected hotly. "And I didn't have a choice!"

_We could have gone home!_

"I didn't know how!"

_Why didn't you just read Aunt 'Doka's book?_

"I didn't want to and Daddy told us not to! Why didn't you remember what your stupid book said if it was so important? Or why didn't you just listen to daddy?" Yui waited for an answer from her brother but received nothing. Tears welled up in the boy's eyes.

"I think that's enough," Uncle Bou-san said, reminding the two he was there. Yui made sure he could not see her face. "We should go back to the office. Seems like you two have spent enough time outside."

As the trio walked home, Yui had to remind herself that awesome people don't cry.

* * *

Madoka-san sat in the front office, working diligently on her laptop, when Bou-san brought the kids back to the office. He looked for his girlfriend but could find no red-haired short-tempered fury around. He looked at his watch.

"It's been an hour and a half and they're still not out?" the bassist asked.

"No. Whatever they're talking about is sure to be important if Noll hasn't kicked them both out already," the pinkette said. She pressed a few buttons on her laptop before finally turning to the monk with a smile. "Right?"

"I guess," Bou-san said. The kids seemed to be still mad at one another, but he could not help. He only knew half of the story and asking for the other half would be sure to start the fighting again. "Do you have any idea how much longer they'll take?"

"I'm not sure," Madoka-san replied.

Bou-san could only let out a low whistle and take a seat on the couch. "I guess there's nothing else to do but wait, then."

"Would you like something to drink while you're here?" Madoka-san asked.

"An iced coffee for me and I guess the kids will have water. Jou-jou-chan did a lot of running around earlier," the man said.

Madoka smiled and walked out of the room, leaving the monk to his own thoughts. What on earth could be taking so long?

* * *

"Are you sure that'll work?" Matsuzaki-san queried. Oliver rolled his eyes. Of course it would work.

"I think it will," Mai said. "We've been trying to ask Yui and Kazi what's going on, but the only other person who knows more than we do is Gene. Asking him how he found the kids could help us figure out what's going on."

"Then why don't you ask, Naru?" Matsuzaki-san asked. Again with the stupid questions...

"My brother and I are no longer on a similar wave length. From what I can tell, he and Mai are much closer, giving them more opportunities to speak," the young man explained. "There are times where he has been around and I have been aware of it, but we have not been able to establish a connection at this point in time."

"When do you think you'll talk to him again, Mai?"

Finally, a valid question. Oliver turned to the brunette.

"Well, last time we talked was actually a couple of days ago. He may need either time to recuperate or more energy if we want to talk to him as soon as possible," Mai recalled. Oliver frowned. That was after their dinner. Was it Eugene being Eugene and wanting to know what was happening or was it something else?

_...and that's good enough for me. You're just a bit of an idiot scientist is all..._

Oliver shook his head. Why would he be worried? If Mai said such things about him—and he knew they were not about Eugene because there was no way his brother could be picky, rude, demanding, or impolite—then he would trust her. Her feelings were no longer under scrutiny. Only his own.

But if his brother were low on energy...

"How long does it usually take for him to gather enough energy to talk to you again?" he asked. Mai shrugged.

"He usually takes that time to go over to you. Sometimes he 'takes the long way around' and sometimes he takes a shortcut through the Astral Plane," Mai answered. "Before you ask, no, I don't k now what 'the long way around' means."

"I wasn't going to. Gene doesn't directly interact with me. He pulls pranks around my apartments to get my attention," he said.

"Really?" Mai asked.

"Why would he do that?" Matsuzaki-san asked. Oliver frowned. He had actually forgotten her presence.

"It doesn't matter. What's important is that Mai speaks with him as swiftly as possible," he said. He began to think of ways to give Gene the boost he needed in order to speak. Under other circumstances—such as a stronger bond with his brother post-mortem—Oliver could have given his brother the extra energy seamlessly. It was not as though he had none to spare.

But that was an impossible solution. Hardly a solution at all.

"Um, I have an idea."

* * *

"Oh, there you are," Bou-san said when his girlfriend entered the room. Madoka looked up from her work in order to greet the redhead. It was difficult to pretend she had heard nothing. "You were in there for a while. You guys figure it out?"

"Hardly," the woman scoffed. Madoka's interest was piqued. "Mai and Naru just shoved me out of the room while they keep up their little 'talk'."

"Are they finally confessing their feelings for each other?" Madoka asked, a smirk coming to her face despite knowing this probably was not the case. "I promised Luella video if Noll found someone over here. I knew he would so I got three extra cameras just in case."

"Not even close," Ayako said. She turned to Yui and Kazi and then smiled awkwardly.

_Did she know they were here?_ Madoka wondered. She chose not to say anything as the red haired woman ruffled Kazi's hair.

"Those people you call Mommy and Daddy for now are stubborn people. Please don't judge them too harshly," she said. The children looked at her oddly as she tried to smile at them, however...

"Wow, old hag. That almost sounded _motherly_," Bou-san said. Ayako whipped around to glare at him.

"What was that, you old monk?!" she growled. Madoka smiled softly. That was slightly better, more in character for the two of them, and they had the attention of the children. The barbs, however, seemed to be entertaining the children rather than worrying them.

Madoka chose to return to her research. The very many effects of PK on a person and their surroundings.

_**AmyNChan: Also, I hope you guys take the time to read my short fic, **__**Trapped are the Guilty**__**.**_

_**Naru: Why?**_

_**AmyNChan: Because I had been working on it in secret since November last year and it's the sort of story I enjoy reading and I really wanted to share it with people. I've worked very hard on it and I'd like the input of my readers.**_

_**Naru: It may be a touch different than other stories in this site in the aspect that the concept of 'fluff' is not a main category.**_

_**AmyNChan: It's supposed to be a suspense/mystery fic. Please, please, please go read it.**_

_**Mai: Are you...begging?**_

_**AmyNChan: ...no?**_

_**Mai: You're begging! Stop it! You don't beg!**_

_**AmyNChan: But—**_

_**Mai: No, no buts! Just ask them nicely and then move on.**_

_**AmyNChan: Well...**_

_**Mai and Naru: *glare***_

_**AmyNChan: Yeesh, tough crowd... Okay, guys. Please check out my fic, **__**Trapped are the Guilty**__** and read and review this fic, please! *^_^***_


	27. I Trust You

_**AmyNChan: Okay, it's been a couple weeks and thanks for waiting patiently for this chapter, guys! *^_^***_

_**Giant Floating Baby Head: Gah!**_

_**AmyNChan: Yipes! Wrong fandom! Go, shoo!**_

_**GFBH: *coos unhappily***_

_**AmyNChan: Ehe… I don't own the giant floating baby head and nor do I own Ghost Hunt. XD**_

"What do you mean you're not a priest? You did not contradict Shibuya-san when he made the observation upon first meeting you," Masako asked. Her brows were pinched together and her mouth formed a tight line as soon as she finished speaking. She accompanied John-san to the nearest bench and allowed him to sit first, thinking that perhaps he had walked here in order to get some rest.

"At the time, I was impressed at how well he knew the order of things," John-san admitted. His bright blue eyes widened in worry for a moment before he continued. "Would you prefer if we return to speaking in Japanese?"

"English is fine with me," Masako responded in the same language. John-san smiled and patted the seat beside him, silently asking she join him. She had no problems complying with this request and sat with the utmost amount of grace she could possibly muster given her confused state of mind. "If you are not a priest, then how are you able to perform such effective exorcisms? Aside from a few oddities, they are extremely by-the-book and traditional to the point that I would not have noticed the difference had I not been familiar with the subject myself."

John-san smiled encouragingly. "You're right. My exorcisms are by-the-book. I was a secretary to a local bishop at the age of nine. He was also an exorcist and so I took notes on his exorcisms. He taught me what it meant to be an exorcist when he wasn't busy with his—or my—other duties. Almost everything I learned was something gained from either his notes or from him."

"That's...unorthodox," Masako mentioned. Impressive, yet unorthodox. "So the bishop you apprenticed under taught you how to exorcise spirits who have gone rogue? Wasn't the bishop afraid that a child would be injured?"

"In a sense," John-san said. "I was officially too young to be a secretary, but I was the only one around willing and able to do the job. He left me in the car with the A/C on sometimes if the case turned out to be really dangerous. Other times I was able to come inside and watch him work, taking notes when I needed to."

"It sounds as though you were very studious," Masako said. It was meant as a compliment.

"I certainly tried my best," John-san chuckled. Masako could sense his uneasiness and—unsure what to do—decided to rest her hand atop his. She was slightly surprised when he brought his other hand over to pat hers lightly. A sign of comfort? If so, was it for her or for himself? "The bishop noticed my efforts and helped me along further. Sometimes he even let me be a part of an exorcism. Eventually, it got to the point where I would take one on for him and he would do another."

"Is that allowed?" Masako asked. She had a hard time imagining that the Church would be all right with a mere child performing exorcisms in God's holy name.

"Not that I'm aware of, but we were helping those who ought to be helped," John-san said. He smiled forlornly and the girl could not help but wish she knew what memory had just flit across his eyes. "From what I can tell, God doesn't want any of his children to suffer. He has blessed me with the ability to exorcise, see spirits, and put an end to some of the suffering of this world and the next. So that is what I will do."

The young woman blinked. John-san was not even an official exorcist. He was going off of passion and empathy for people alone.

Her respect for him grew.

"Of course, when I return to Australia, I cause a bit of an uproar..." he continued, chuckling good-naturedly. "The Church can be quite frustrated with me at times and try to force me to do things slowly, such as go through the years of training to become a normal priest, but I refuse to stop doing God's work and let good people suffer alone. Of course, it's nice when the spirits find peace as well..."

John-san trailed off and merely smiled. "Of course, I also have to thank Father Tojou and the orphanage here. Because of them, I can continue to do good work even here in Japan. If he had treated me like a few of the others—pushing me to do things traditionally and simply ignore calls of help that I can respond to—I'm not sure I would have been able to stay for long."

The Australian man smiled warmly, his tale coming to an end. A slight breeze shuffled through his golden hair and his bright blue eyes seemed as crisp as the winter day. He was as unorthodox and odd as the rest of them, and yet he was so kind.

She smiled.

"John," she said carefully. He turned towards her, appearing to have not noticed the drop in suffix. She smiled. "You are a kind person."

The blonde man blinked, but his face soon dissolved into that beautiful smile that made her feel as though somewhere in this wretched world, an amount of goodness remained.

It had just taken her this long to discover that its name was John Brown.

* * *

"Absolutely not," Naru said again. Mai huffed in irritation.

"But Naru, you don't—"

"Mai, it's too dangerous." There he went, interrupting her again! Mai tried as hard as she could to not grit her teeth in response. It was bad for her teeth. "In the hospital, you could barely stand up when I gave you only a bit of my energy. I still don't know how you accomplished that feat."

"Ugh, Naru, we don't have time for this!" Mai groaned, giving in to the urge of gritting teeth. "I thought we were trying to send Yui and Kazi back where they came from. We need to talk to Gene and ask how he found them. I thought this was _your_ idea!"

"Mai, you're not going to do those children any good if you end up breaking because of the things I can do to you."

The room shifted a few degrees. He was letting off energy. Mai tried to siphon it away from the room, but—as she had suspected earlier—there was simply not enough energy to truly make a difference anywhere but the weather. The temperature shifted back.

"Mai!" He turned to glare at her, but she was prepared with a counterstrike.

"Naru, what's it going to take for you to realize that I'm not going to fizzle out like a match if you depend on me a bit? What do I have to do to show you that you're not going to break me if you rely on me a little?" she pressed. "I'm not going to—"

"No," he restated. "I'm not doing it."

"Naru!"

He did not respond to her.

"Naru, come on."

He was not even looking at her now.

"Naru!"

When had he torn his gaze away?

"Can't you trust me?"

When had he turned his chair around?

"Naru, please!"

When had he turned his back on her?

"Orriburu Dabisu, look at me!"

Mai slammed her hands on his desk as a last resort. As expected, he turned swiftly to make sure she had not damaged anything of value. Of course, she had not, but the tactic had worked. Before he could turn to ignore her again, she dug into him.

"You wanna know why I think this can work? Why I'm so sure that you won't break me? I've been working on it with Gene ever since we caught that woman two years ago. I did that so if you ever came back you wouldn't have to worry about her destroying your life. Evidently, Gene needed to see someone care about his brother as much as he did before he passed on. He passed on, but then he came back so he could teach me how to be an anchor for you. Because he passed back and forth once, the risk of turning bad has gone down for him a heck of a lot but if he makes another trip around he's said he won't be able to come back. He still won't tell me how he managed to come back the first time," Mai explained, somehow having lost her breath on the explanation itself. Naru's eyes showed that he was processing the information, but she was not done yet. She took a deep breath and attempted to continue calmly.

"Gene's been training me on how to handle your energy. It's why our wavelengths are so similar. But because we're so similar, training's stopped. Where his energy burns me now, yours would actually give me strength. I thought you would know that, studying PK and all," Mai said, a frown on her face. Her heart felt heavy at his reluctance to let her in. However, instead of turning around and ignoring her once more, Naru's eyes flicked down to her hands.

"Show me."

It was not the reaction she was expecting, but she supposed his interaction and interest were better than indifference and/or anger. Mai showed him her palms, which were only slightly pink and not very tender. Naru stood and took them, examining them closely. Mai had no choice but to step forward so he could get a better look.

The brunette woman watched as he studied her hands. She was not sure what he would find or even what he was looking for. They were just a couple of healing burns. As he studied, she took him in once more. This man—as infuriating as he could be—was being incredibly gentle with her.

Did he not notice?

"This isn't something you should be messing around with, Mai," he finally said. His eyes remained trained on the small burns. Small, pink, and healing fast.

"I'm not messing around," she protested softly, silently begging him to see. The energy she had taken before was being applied to her hands. She suddenly understood Gene's message of understanding when the time came. "I'm doing this so I can help."

Her hands were healed.

"Mai, you were hurt trying this."

"They were little burns and they won't happen with you. I've been actively trying to match Gene's wavelength and I won't be doing that with you. I'll be keeping my wavelength where it is so this kind of thing won't happen. You won't hurt me," she insisted. Without truly knowing what she was doing, she closed her fingers over Naru's thumbs. His eyes revealed slight shock when they finally flicked up to her face, her healthy hands covering his pale ones.

"Naru, I trust you. Do you trust me?"

* * *

Kazi had hidden himself away once Uncle Bou-san and Aunt Aya had left. He did not want to talk to his sister. He did not want to hear her splutter her own form of indirect apologies. He did not want anything right now except to be left to himself. Normally he would go into Father's office and grab a book or perhaps find Mommy and help her with making some tea, but right now they were both talking to each other. He was left on his own.

Now he had hidden himself under Aunt 'Doka's desk. Yui had tried to get in, but he had merely shut the panel he knew was there and kept it blocked. He did not want to talk to her and there was no way she was coming in.

"Open this thing up!" she demanded again.

_No_.

"Open it!"

_No._

"Kazi!" She started to bang on the panel. "Open this door! I need to talk to you!"

He put his hands over his ears, trying to block her out. Trying to shut everything out.

It was not his fault they were here. It was not! Yui should have read Aunt 'Doka's book. She should have read it and now he could not help. He sort of knew how they got here, but he had no clue as to get back. He had never made it that far in the book.

It was not his fault they were here. It was not. And yet that was not the fact that hurt the most out of all of this.

It was that he could not help them to get back home.

He ignored the fact that his sister had long since stopped beating on the panel.

* * *

Lin was very good at what he did. He was excellent in categorizing and retrieving information as well as his standard omoyoji practices. His interpersonal relations skills were more satisfactory than Oliver's, yet that alone was not an indicator of how much so. Speaking with other people was more along Madoka's department. Or perhaps even Taniyama-san. Anyone in the office aside from himself and Noll were prime candidates for conversation.

_Lin-san, the office seems closed. Perhaps now we can rendezvous? ;)_

So how was it that he was the one who ended up with these strange texts from Yasuhara-san? He had thought of ignoring the young man yet something whispered in his ear. Something relating to his wife and her newfound investigation. Rather than adamantly ignoring the young man as per his initial instinct, Lin sent a text in return.

_Yasuhara-san, on what grounds was your theory based on?_

Nothing more than that would be sent. Elsewise Lin felt as though he would be made a fool of. Perhaps the young man knew more than he was letting on or perhaps it was a dead end. An email popped up on his screen behind his work. He brought it to the forefront of his screen.

_Kojou, I'm doing research on PK effects on the human body. Can you give me a list of what you know is solid fact?_

_M._

Lin had opened a new draft before he had finished reading her short message, hands already flying at the keyboard. He reminded her that Noll's book—Paranormal System—had a few slight references to the subject. The young genius had chosen not to write anything on the topic. He had believed himself to be a poor observer on the effects of PK as he was unable to make objective observations in real time. Those observations were seemingly trusted to Lin, who recorded thus.

A vibration from his phone alerted him to another text message.

_Straight to the chase, then? I'm not really basing it on anything other than the fact that they're twins and already appear so close to Mai-san and Big Boss. Then there's the fact that they seem to know things they just shouldn't yet. Things about ourselves even we don't know yet._

_Perhaps my old age is catching up to me. :P Why?_

The Chinese man read the text. He should have known that Yasuhara-san's theory was built upon little more than a romanticized idea of adventure and mystery, encouraged by facts that were incredibly sparse. However, because of this boy's thoughts the idea was already planted.

_Come by the office when you can. We will discuss it over your new resumé._

As soon as the text was sent, Lin reviewed the list he had prepared for Madoka. It was mainly his personal observations on Oliver when Gene had been alive and post-mortem. The effects qigong on PK and the body together as well as what he had deduced when Oliver used his psychometry, which had been linked to his PK as well. The connection had never been proven—if his sight onto the past was an ability connected to his PK or something else entirely—but it was a good thing to include in such a list.

He nodded in satisfaction with his compilation and sent it on its way.

* * *

Gene waited in his Astral Plane, contemplating. He was halfway between 'awake' and 'asleep' with only a minimal amount of energy. He was confused as to why he was even conscious at the moment, given that he had used so much vigor training Mai. But he was surely 'waking up'. Slowly but surely.

Once he had enough juice to think, he began to contemplate what he already knew. Mai was making excellent progress last he spoke with her, he had no idea how much time had passed even though he suspected it was very little, and he wanted to get in touch with his brother if at all possible. He wanted to at least attempt talking to him about the children and his new theory while involving Mai as little as possible.

She might very well explode in a fiery blush or give a slap for suggesting such things to her. Do not get him wrong, he was aware how much she had grown in her sense of logic and common sense, but when it came to his brother she often reverted back into a blushing mess who had a hard time getting things done. Especially after their 'date'.

Eugene gave a weak chuckle. That pair was awkward and odd, but they went together and he was certain they would figure it out eventually.

"Oof!"

The sixteen year old boy did not yet have enough energy to properly greet whoever had come to his little realm. But the voice was so small and frustrated... he opened his eyes to come face-to-face with a young girl with wide, panicked blue eyes and her face quickly losing all its color.

"Uncle Gene!" she yelled, quickly making her way to him. The large sound hurt his head for a moment, but he did not let the little girl know about his pain. "Hey, get up! You're not supposed to be like this, you've never been like this! Uncle Gene! Get up or I'm gonna have to tell daddy!"

_How can one little girl be so demanding, rude, and concerned at the same time?_ Gene found himself wondering. He was slowly gaining more energy, enough to crack a somewhat confident smile.

"You wouldn't be referring to Noll by any chance, would you?" he asked, his voice still somewhat weak. That training had taken a serious toll on him. The question returned to his mind: Why was he 'waking' now?

Yui's eyes widened and she quickly resolved into an angry pout. Her forehead was crinkled and her frown was deepened, but this expression reminded him of a time Mai had gotten caught slacking during training rather than when Noll had gotten caught stealing a cookie from the cookie jar when he was little. Gene chuckled and allowed his eyes to close as he continued to regain strength at a somewhat suspicious rate. "That's what I thought."

"How do you know?" she asked, trying to deflect the question. A learned tactic, he presumed. A tactic he knew well, so he decided to throw a few selective words back at her.

"Why else would you call me Uncle Gene?" he asked, his voice filled with his typical lecturing tone. He could hear the girl splutter before her answer.

"No fair!"

He chuckled. With his eyes closed, she sounded so much like a miniature Mai that it was positively comical. It was something he could not believe he had missed before now. Perhaps because their entrance had been so strange, perhaps because he had been more focused on his brother and Mai and how they would put up with each other, perhaps because he had been worried that the halt in training would halt Mai's growth as a person. Perhaps, but it was now something he took particular note of.

"You can't tell anybody," the young girl blurted. "It could mess everything up!"

"Why do you think it would?" the boy asked. While he was still gaining energy, he still could not sit up to look her in the eye just yet.

He was eighty six point seven percent sure she had rolled her eyes as she scoffed, much like his brother did when he felt comfortable with any one person.

"What if Mom and Daddy don't get married because all of this? What if everyone leaves? What if I never get to meet Souta or Amaya or Jun or even that stinky baby? And if Mom and Daddy don't get married, me and my brother won't be born, and then I didn't protect him…"

Gene forced his eyes open when he heard the normally loud and assertive girl go quiet. He could see a familiar anger pass over her face, much like the type he had seen on Noll's after a particularly harmful case. With a surge of energy whose origin remained unclear, he managed to finally sit up, finally fully refreshed.

"Yu—"

"I told daddy that I'd always look after him! I promised and now I don't even know if we'll get home!" the girl yelled, the entire atmosphere somehow different. "I don't even know how this happened! We were scared and then everything hurt and then we fall on you! I just want to go home! Uncle Gene, I wanna go home…"

The small girl continued to cry and stomp around, screaming at the top of her lungs at just how unfair everything was. That Uncle Gene had figured everything out, that Kazuki—which he assumed was the real name of the boy—was no longer talking to her, that she had just essentially botched all chances of going home by letting someone find out that they were not from this time period, that mom and daddy did not love each other yet and did not know them, that everything was so very hard for her. It was a loud raging temper tantrum, but Gene was not the one to interfere.

"…I want my daddy!" she finally wailed, broken. Tears and snot ran down the young girl's face and Gene refrained from giving her a hug. Instead, he shot a glance behind her and gave a simple nod.

Mai turned the girl around gently and gave her a gentle hug. It did not soften the crying and nor did it heal all of the hurt undergone in the past week and a half, but Gene sensed that it somehow helped. He looked up at the grown woman, evaluating her to see how she had taken things. Given that this was the supposed love-child between herself and his brother—and yes, it sounded extremely awkward to him when he put it that way—she was handling the revelation fairly well.

Mai continued to hold her until the girl grew weak. She whispered something and laid her down before she disappeared from the plane. Gene cleared his throat.

"How much of that did you hear?" he asked.

"Enough to confirm everyone's suspicions," she stated cryptically. Gene frowned. He wanted more than that.

"How much was enough?" he prodded.

"The first thing I heard was that she promised Naru she would keep someone safe," Mai said, exhaling. Gene—despite himself—found the blush on her face. Against his better judgment, he grinned.

"So… you and Noll…"

"Gene…"

"You know, I can just say—"

"Don't you dare—"

"I told you so."

Mai's response was that little pout that her girl had worn just half an hour ago. "I hate you."

"No, you don't." Gene grinned. The future looked bright for Oliver and Mai. He frowned once more as another thought struck him. Just how did the future fare for young Yui and Kazuki?

_**AmyNChan: Okay, so now everything's pretty much out in the open. XD It'll actually get **_**said**_** in the next chapter. Possibly. XD And—as I'm sure you guys can tell—I think this story's wrapping itself up.**_

_**Naru: Now, there were a few concepts that Chan-san wanted your opinion on.**_

_**AmyNChan: Yup! I was surprised with the lack of response about John in the last chapter. No one seemed interested at that one. XD And no one seemed curious about Madoka. I honestly want to know your guys' thoughts on what everyone's doing. XDD**_

_**Mai: Also, this is a point where Amy is going to stop and ask you guys for help.**_

_**AmyNChan: Yeah. Guys, my aunt is in a bit of a tight spot. I say aunt, she's more of my dad's cousin. But every year at the reunion her family and mine always just 'click'. Her kids—daughter and son—are good kids that I'm super proud to call my cousins. Her husband is always nice to us and gives humongoid bear hugs whenever we see him. She's a wonderful person and super nice to everyone she meets.**_

_**But the thing is that she's in a lot of pain. Something's wrong medically with her spine—has been for years—but now there's a medical treatment plan for her. One of her friends has started a gofundme page in order to help get the amount of money she needs for the treatment—which the insurance won't cover—and the living expenses of being near the treatment for six weeks—while her kids go back to school and her man holds down the fort at home.**_

_**So I'm turning to you guys for help. Even if it's a signal boost or you can actually donate, either would be greatly appreciated! I'll post an actual clickable link will also be on my profile page since I can't do it in the story itself.**_

_**Please, if you can, take the time to help my Aunt Wendy.**_


	28. Coming Clean

_**AmyNChan: I'm late, I'm late, I'm so so so so so so sorry I'm late! ._.**_

_**Naru: Where were you?**_

_**AmyNChan: I hit a major writer's block with this chapter. I couldn't get it to just **__**go**__**, so I had to work on it a bit longer...**_

_**Naru: *glares***_

_**AmyNChan: meep... ._. I don't own Ghost Hunt...**_

Oliver kept his eyes trained on Mai's sleeping form lying on the couch. His own energy was somewhat depleted at the moment which led to him sitting closely beside her, but if she could get the answers they needed then the risk he had taken to trust Mai would be well worth it.

The energy transfer had been small at first in order not to overtax Mai. He had seen her hands healed before his eyes, had seen the strength and determination and absolute stubbornness from her eyes that told him she would somehow get what she needed to get the job done. He was thankful—not that he would admit it—for her somewhat understanding on his position of hesitance. When he had held back, she had not said a word. It was after a few moments of cautious transmission when she had begun to pull on his energy with more defiance, slowly showing him that she could take the small amounts he was giving her with ease.

While he knew the shift of his energy was dangerous if he was not careful, the way which she coaxed it out of him was alluring at worst. Somehow, during the transfer, his doubts of her capacity to help had begun to melt one by one. She was strong, defiant, and confident in herself.

And damn him if he did not find it sexy as all Hell.

He was certainly still frightened of what he could do to her were he not careful. This was a controlled environment and the delivery of energy was slow and methodical. In an emergency situation—which Mai told him was the type of situation she was preparing for—the energy would not be given as carefully.

Yet now he felt as though they could work to that point. Rather than no starting point at all, he now had something she was comfortable with. A point to push her from.

It still baffled him that she had put in all of this work on the idea that he might return. Facing down Eugene's killer even though her spirit guide had pleaded with her not to, learning how to handle PK even to the point of burning her hands, even agreeing to something as simple as dinner. She had admitted her love for him, and these children did not appear to be a factor in that love. It had been long-harbored and uninfluenced by the future.

And himself? He knew he loved her. That was why he had not said it as of yet. He had not wanted her to be hurt by loving him. He had been—as much as he loathed to admit it—terrified that he would eventually hurt her with his abilities. Psychologically, physically, emotionally. He had worried that his abilities would break her.

Now? Now he had more confidence in her. She had proven she could handle a little bit. He could teach her safeguards against him should the need arise. Given the fact that two children who claimed to be _theirs_ were here—his ears began to burn slightly—it might be needed.

The door to his office opened sharply and Oliver turned his head. Madoka would know better to come inside, Lin knew this above all else. Who—

His answer was found in the form of a young black-clad girl who practically flew onto his lap, hiccupping with tears. She climbed clumsily onto his form and her hands wrapped around his neck while she buried her head into his neck. He tried not to think about the snot coming out of the girl's nose but there was no way he could ignore the tears streaming down her face.

_If we're right, she wasn't calling us her parents by accident or a misplaced sense of familial bonds,_ he thought, still unsure what to do with the crying child on his shoulder. She would not trigger any sort of vision and nor was she seeking the sort of attention he was used to being asked for. She simply clung to him, much like Gene used to after he had been exposed to a particularly frightening ghost.

What had he done with Gene? Gene had merely demanded his presence and all Oliver could have done was place his hand over his brother's head while reminding him of his idiotic ways. This tactic had often cheered the boy up if only slightly.

Oliver, attempting to remember the action from so many years ago, placed a hand on the girl's head and she immediately tensed. Somehow concerned that he had made the wrong choice, he began to slide his hand off in a hopefully soothing motion. The tension was alleviated almost instantaneously. Confident that this was the appropriate action, he placed his hand atop her head once more, this time leaving it where it lay atop her head.

"Daddy," she sniffled, her once strong voice cracking. Oliver did not have the desire to correct her currently. He merely stayed, waiting for her to continue her thought. He was not disappointed. "Help me."

"I can't do anything until I get the truth," he said in return, the reaction spoken as quickly as if it were rehearsed. With his blunt expression on the topic, he fully expected her to avert the topic of conversation as she normally did with anyone who dare ask her for specifics. Skirt around what the necessary information with half-questions and feigned obliviousness. But, like her mother evidently, the girl was filled with surprises.

"Okay."

* * *

"The fun has arrived!" the young man with grey hair announced as he opened the front door. According to him, the area needed a bit of cheering up on a normal basis two years ago when Big Boss had first opened the place.

Upon opening his eyes and taking stock of the somber mood that had seemed to be hanging around even now, he told himself that this sentiment was twice as applicable. He sauntered over to a very busy Madoka-san and stood at attention before her, holding his breath and wondering how long it would take her to take the bait.

"Yes, Yasu-kun?" she asked, not even blinking away from the computer. Not very long at all, it would seem.

"Just waiting for the general to give the orders, ma'am," he announced, attempting—and succeeding—to maintain a straight face. She continued in her work and Yasu waited for a while longer before perhaps contemplating his next move. The contemplation did not take very long. "Lieutenant Lin-san has responded appropriately for the plan, ma'am. Everything is green."

"Or pink. Really, Yasu-kun, you ought to broaden your horizons," she admonished gently. While not her usual level of diabolical scheming, this was better than the emotionless façade Yasu was afraid he would have to break for her.

And he had just been in the midst of planning to wrap Lin-san up like a nice little present and lead her in there to enjoy for about half an hour.

_Ah well,_ he thought with a chuckle. _Perhaps later..._

"Speaking of Lin-san, is he in the office now? I was asked to come by with my résumé," the young man said. He watched Madoka-san for any hint that perhaps she knew something about his true reason for stopping by, yet he felt himself disappointed.

"Yeah, he's in there," she told him, giving the courtesy of looking up in order to point out the office that he knew oh so well. Yasu gratefully thanked her before walking the few paces it took to open Lin-san's door. As he shut the entrance behind him, he could have sworn he heard her say something more. However, his attention was grabbed by the stoic Chinese man before him.

"So," he started off with a smirk that seemed to be halfway teasing and halfway serious. "What was it that made you think twice about my theory of time travel?"

* * *

"You can come out now," he heard her say. Her legs were in his small area, but thankfully not touching him. He did not know if the heat from his PK would burn her. The Aunt 'Doka he knew usually did not have a problem with the energy he gave off when he was upset, but sometimes she would tell on him.

But who would she tell this time? Mommy? Father? Neither of them knew him here. Not now.

He shook his head.

Aunt 'Doka scooted her chair out from the place it had been for a while, letting in a bit more light. Kazi squinted his eyes against it, silently praying that she would just go back to whatever she was working on.

He received no such luck.

"Your sister already went into Noll's office and I think she's going to be telling them very soon about when you little tykes are from," the woman said, a soft smile on her face. Kazi's eyes widened. How did she...? "I'm going to ask you a few questions. Do you want to come out from your hiding spot or do you want to stay in there?"

Kazi merely nodded, his brain working as quickly as it could to catch up with what Aunt 'Doka had told him. '_...when _you tykes are from...' She knew. How on earth did she know? They were so careful! So careful...

He did not even realize that the air around him had begun to cool until Aunt 'Doka's warm hand rested against his shoulder. He looked up to see the pinkette smiling at him softly. "Do you know how to type?" she asked.

Kazi nodded once more with purpose and scrambled out of his hiding spot. He moved to sit on Aunt 'Doka's lap and allowed his eyes to scan the screen before him. His eyes popped. This was—

"I've only started on it, so you can't spoil it for me," Aunt 'Doka said. Even though there was a smile on her face, her voice sounded tired. "But I need you to tell me somehow what you think happened to you."

Aunt 'Doka opened up another document on her laptop, turning the keyboard over to his nimble fingers. He noticed that the letters were English. He frowned.

_Where are the kanji keyboards?_ He typed out.

"We don't have any yet," Aunt 'Doka said. "Can you describe what happened to you in English?"

_I think so... I'll try. I don't know everything, though..._

"That's all I'm asking," she said. Kazi smiled nervously as he began to type out what he remembered.

_Well, all I remember is waking up in a strange car with strange men…_

* * *

"So I guess you and Noll are to thank for 'waking' me up?" Gene asked Mai. She was still plenty mad over his innocent little jab, but he was actually very curious. Even more so when she nodded.

"We needed to talk to you and find out what happened the night you picked up the children," Mai said. "I mean, it doesn't much matter now since we know they're from a point in our future—you know, somewhere or somewhen like that—but could you tell me how you found them? It might help us send them back to where—sorry, _when_ they need to be."

"Somewhen?" Gene asked. Mai shrugged sheepishly.

"Yeah, it's not like we have a word like sometime or...wait..." Gene waited with a grin on his face as the woman quickly became more flustered with her word choice. "You know what? It doesn't matter. Can you just tell us how you found them?"

"Well..."

* * *

"Do we hafta tell everybody? I mean, _everybody_?" Yui asked, not budging from her spot on Oliver's lap. She had not moved for a while and it appeared as thought she had no intention of doing so anytime soon. Thankfully she had stopped releasing snot on Oliver's shirt partway into her story, which had not been too terribly long at all. "Kazi's gonna kill me if he knows I told..."

"Really? It seems like you'd be more likely to kill Kazi than the other way around," Mai said. "Metaphorically speaking," she added hastily upon Yui's frosty glare.

The brunette woman had woken from her visit with Gene about a minute or so before the conversation in question, telling the other two in the room that they should probably have a meeting to discuss the findings between the three of them with the rest of the team. It was—in her point of view—a quandary that involved everyone in the office, given how integrated the children had become into their lives.

Oliver had agreed to an extent.

"I don't like it…" Yui pouted. She folded her arms. "I'm not doing it."

"Yes you are," Oliver stated. Without waiting for any sort of denial or concession, he placed the girl on the ground and stood so she could not get a similar hold on him once more. The girl frowned heavily, yet complied.

"It is really weird to see that and _know_," Mai muttered, rubbing her head. Oliver could not see what she saw, but knew the associated feeling. Children from the future meeting their parents in the past. He had no idea if their presence here was shaping the future they came from or if it was changing it.

Strictly speaking, only time would tell.

"Madoka, can you get Lin in here? I think we should go over something about the children," Oliver said as he opened the door to the front office.

"Sorry, Big Boss, you're a bit late to this party," a familiar—somewhat irksome and somewhat respected—voice called from within the office. "But don't worry, we were about to invite the lovely couple who dared to elope without us anyways."

"Y-Yasu!" Mai spluttered from the side. When Oliver did it, it was funny and cute. When Yasuhara did it, it was more irksome than not.

"What's 'elope' mean?" Yui asked loudly.

Oliver wondered why a girl who claimed to be his daughter did not understand the meaning of such a simple word. Had he not educated her or expanded her vocabulary in the future? He looked to Kazi.

The young boy had the same mischief in his eyes that Gene used to have as a child. The same mischief that Mai sometimes held in her eye from two years ago. _Obviously_ he understood the word.

"If your parents haven't told you, then I'm not going to take that from them," Mai said. Oliver wondered about the catch in her voice. What was so humorous about a five year old child not knowing a certain word? Obviously her brother understood it, Mai knew why the girl was not enlightened yet.

He would talk with the brunette later about it, but he shelved his curiosity for now.

"In any event, Yui has brought some facts to light that we may or may not share with the rest of JSPR," Oliver said, bringing the point of the matter into focus.

"So did Kazi," Madoka added. Oliver looked to the young boy to see him shuffling nervously. One did not need a telepathic connection to see the conversation happening between siblings, yet it was helpful in a way.

_I'm gonna kill you!_

_You told Father…_

_That's different!_

_No, it isn't!_

"And Gene's input might tell us why they came _here_ specifically," Mai tacked on, bringing the three participants of silent chatter out of their minds and into reality. The children refused to look at each other while Oliver simply paid more attention to the more relevant conversation.

"Noll, why don't you tell us what Yui said first? I'll fill in with what Kazi wrote and Mai can then tell us what happened on Gene's end," Madoka said.

"Sounds good to me," Yasuhara stated. If Oliver did not know any better, he supposed that the grey-haired youth was more than pleased about not being the one to bring history into light this time around. Rather than treat the thought as more than a passing notion, Oliver began his concise summary of what the girl had told him while in the office.

"Yui was quite reluctant to tell me anything about what had happened leading up to this event, but she did state that she and Kazi were kidnapped by some people who were hired. Someone evidently wanted them as 'good luck charms' and were _paying_ to have them." Oliver did not bother to hide his disgust. "Evidently, the men had taken them in the middle of the night and brought them into a car, knocked the children out with a sort of drug as they were not yet asleep. Yui then told me that she had been unconscious for a while because the next thing she knew, she awoke to her brother panicking."

Oliver gave a pointed glance over to Madoka, who he knew was just as angry about this as he. Even if he could not treat the children as his own despite the proof piling on that they were, he would always be angry if a child were in the crosshairs of any malevolent being—alive or dead. Madoka infinitely more so.

"I suppose that's my que to tell you what Kazi remembers," she said. Oliver nodded. She turned to her computer and began reading aloud. "'_All_ _I remember is waking up in a strange car with strange men. I don't know how I got there or why we were there. Well, I didn't know then. But my sister—don't call her Yui in your research. Call her something else, please. My sister was half asleep. I couldn't get out of the car without her. We work together, our powers balance each other out. I can't do much without her and she doesn't have any offensive abilities of her own._'"

"Hey!"

Kazi shrugged and Madoka continued despite Yui's outburst.

"'_I remember trying to give her a bit of my energy. Just to wake her up and shake off whatever had her so groggy. I hit my head with hers and all of a sudden I could see it. I knew what she knew, kind of. Like watching a really fast powerpoint. All I knew was that these men were kidnappers and that they were going to do something bad to us… and something even worse that I can't say'_…I'm going to go on a hunch here and say that was being sold?" Madoka asked.

Yui glared at Kazi, but nothing was said over the telepathic connection. Oliver did not know and the children did not even want to think about it. He frowned before gesturing for Madoka to continue.

"'_So I got really scared. And angry. And sad. But I was mainly scared. Even though I'm supposed to think of mommy and Father when I'm scared, or practice Qigong, or try to be calm, I couldn't do it. I was just so scared, I couldn't do anything except panic. I don't remember anything after that except for a flash of light, a lot of pain, and somehow getting here._'"

Everyone turned to Oliver again. He nodded. "When Kazi fell into panic, Yui woke up. She told me that Kazi had begun to leak PK—"

"Like he did at the hospital?" Yasuhara interrupted. Oliver glared at him.

"How did you know about that?" Mai asked. A good question, but the raven haired man already knew it would be fruitless.

"Ayako told me."

Far less fruitless than he had initially assumed. He would have to chat with the team's doctor later. For now, he had a debriefing to finish.

"Yui had no idea how much of Kazi's energy she had already absorbed. She said that taking a bit of his energy in is healing for her and it's something she can do subconsciously, though not in large amounts this way."

"That explains why he wasn't killing anyone—including himself—at the hospital when he was making everything fly around. And why Yui woke up so quickly after a head injury like that," Mai piped up. "She was absorbing just enough of the energy subconsciously to speed up the healing process. Just not enough to get her up to full health instantly."

"Nice theory," Yasuhara said. Oliver silently agreed, but frowned at the interruption.

"In any event, she did heal quickly from the drug's effects, but Kazi kept releasing energy. From what she told me, she attempted to pass the energy back and forth between her and Kazi. Each time she passed it to him, she added a bit of her own energy for him to absorb in order to keep him safe."

This time, he expected Mai's interruption.

"Opposite energies heal while energies that are too similar hurt each other. If Kazi's energy heals Yui, then it stands to reason that hers would heal him in return, right?" Mai asked.

"In a vague sense," Oliver said. "Kazi would have to know how to employ healing methods to himself, and from what Yui told me about the situation, he only did so after he fell unconscious."

The stares he got were far louder than the question hanging above everyone's heads. Louder than anyone could have asked.

"Evidently, she began passing the energy back and forth with her half-conscious brother, not realizing until it was too late that they had amassed too much to keep contained. As powerful as their abilities are, they are still children and have a limit."

Oliver ignored Lin's cough. He also ignored the many times that same cough told him he was going to go over his own limit.

"Yui told me that circumstances changed instantly. Her control broke over the energy and it was released all at once with herself and Kazi at the center. The flash that Kazi remembers might very well be that energy. Yui mentioned being in a space similar to the Astral Plane. A black void of nothingness, devoid of even the harmless floating spirits. It was only herself and Kazi in that area. There, she found many of what she called 'strings'. 'Threads'. 'Pieces of wire'. She mentioned that many of them pulled to her, but she only had a moment to choose the one that she trusted the most. A small whiteish blue wire that pulled on her when she grabbed it."

Everyone in the room save for Yui seemed to be enthralled by this. The young girl was pouting and Oliver knew this stemmed from not wanting to share what had happened at all.

"And then?" Madoka finally asked. Her fingertips were at the keys and Oliver reminded himself that everyone who worked for BSPR—at least those who had spent ample time in the research department—had a knack for ludicrously quick typing.

"And then we were here, okay?" Yui blurted, her arms folded. She glared at Oliver with blue eyes that seemed to have a touch of fire to them. "Why'd I have to tell, anyways?"

"In order to figure out how you got here. Already we know that you and Kazi created a massive amount of energy—an amount you had never attempted before due to the amount of fear and stress you were subjected to given the circumstances—and that all of that energy was released at once."

"So?" Mai asked.

"If you look at any accredited theory of time and space travel, energy is always a constant or the flow thereof," Madoka said. Oliver raised an eyebrow. Since when had she been so interested? When had she researched this? "Even those who aren't accredited make connections with energy as well. If you've seen any science fiction show or read any novel, what's the most common method of traveling backwards in time?"

"A black hole," she answered.

"That's right. Now, usually in those tales, a black hole leads somewhere. Of course, in reality it's a star collapsing on itself, bringing even the essence of gravity and light into it's rapidly condensing center. It's forever imploding, and that has somehow lead to the clock stopping—in theory."

"But how does Yui and Kazi making a bunch of energy and then allowing it to explode make them travel back in time? I majored in business, not all of this fancy stuff," Mai huffed. Oliver sighed.

"The energy didn't stay in one place," he explained. "It exploded and then returned into to the children at a rapid rate. They were still healing themselves. When energy does that, it begins to implode. Or, more precisely, the energy brought with it more things than were there originally. It began condensing material too far to be considered natural, which is the technical observation of the black hole."

"So… we're back to the black hole?"

"Right," Madoka said. "They made a tiny black hole wherever they were. And because they theoretically had extra energy coming straight at them—like when you throw your hands out and then bring them back in to protect you when you're in danger—they had enough to twist the laws of time and go backwards instead of forwards. They pretty much bounced outside of the timeline and something led them here to this point in time."

"The whiteish-blue wire!" Mai exclaimed. Now she was catching on. "So… what was the wire? Was it an actual wire? What would a wire be doing out in space? Or…not in space, I guess? And what was pulling on the other side?"

"What Yui-san perceived as a wire may not be a solid object at all," Lin said, finally contributing to the conversation. Everyone turned to him, but the man did not seem perturbed by the attention. "It may have been a representation of something else. The size and color of the wire—small and whiteish blue—could give us hints as to what was the acting force behind pulling them to that specific time and place."

"So that's where Gene comes in, right?" Mai asked. "He said that he was just going the 'long way around' from Naru to me when he was thinking and then the children fell out of the sky."

"Out of the sky?" Yasuhara asked. Oliver sighed. How long would it take for them to realize?

"Out of the sky," Mai affirmed. Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose. "Those were your brother's words, not mine!"

"Mai, if the children really fell from the sky, they would have been incredibly injured. They wouldn't have been able to walk to your house."

"What? So Gene was lying?"

"No, I'm saying that the children did not fall from the sky," Oliver said. "I'm saying they fell from Gene's position in the sky."

Everyone else in the room appeared to have lost his train of thought and Oliver sighed. It was truly simple and the first person to catch onto his logic would have to be—

"Gene...was the wire that pulled them here? How? Why?" Mai asked, catching on far quicker than Oliver had assumed. He allowed himself to be the slightest bit of impressed.

"He could have been thinking about you and Big Boss," Yasuhara said. The young researcher put his hand on his chin as he continued to speculate. "Thoughts aren't exactly physical, but we have them. Who's to say they can't just go where they will. So, rather than thinking of the kids directly, Gene-san was thinking of you two and your future. Thinking like this would make it so what Yui-chan saw was a small wire, not a strong cable or anything."

"That kind of makes sense," Mai said. "But if that's what brought them here, then how are we going to send them back? They had an overload of energy and someone pulling them from the other side and it absolutely wiped them out."

As everyone thought on the problem, Oliver found the solution to come rather easily. The single issue was this: would it work?

_**AmyNChan: Okay, this is a bit longer than normal, but I hope that works for you guys. You did, after all, wait for quite a while for this. ^^;**_

_**Mai: Naru, what's your idea!?**_

_**Naru: *thinks about how to test this theory***_

_**Mai: Naru!**_

_**Naru: *still contemplating***_

_**AmyNChan: So... if you guys would like, please leave a review? *^_^* Thank you~! *^_^***_


	29. Going Home

_**AmyNChan: Okay, one thing before I post this here—**_

_**Mai: This was a rather quick update, wasn't it?**_

_**AmyNChan: Hey, I'm trying! ^^;**_

_**Naru: What was the one thing?**_

_**AmyNChan: Humor week is coming up. It actually starts this Monday, believe it or not! XD**_

_**Mai: So you want a lot of people to participate?**_

_**AmyNChan: Pretty please and thank you! The forum where the prompts are is located on my profile page. Snavej's as well~! *^_^***_

_**Naru: Now that this has been cleared, Chan-san does not own Ghost Hunt.**_

Yui and Kazi had taken to the couch in daddy's office long ago. The adults were still talking about how to get them back home. The children, however, had begun to think of the place and had only been stricken by homesickness. This was the only place to get away from all the talk because it was soundproofed.

But the adults had been talking for the longest time now. A few times, Yui could have sworn she heard a raised voice. The door had opened and closed and that meant more muffled noise, and then some more raised voices, and then some more calm.

"Kazuki?" Yui asked, deciding to shed herself of the nickname that often got her brother in a funk. The young brunette turned towards her, not even using their telepathic connection to ask her what was wrong.

"What do you think they're talking about in there?"

_I'm not sure. Probably a way to get us back home._

The young girl had nothing to say to that. She looked at her daddy's couch. It was far newer than she had ever seen it. It did not have a ding in the leg yet or that hard bump in the middle. It was sleek and shiny.

She missed her daddy's couch.

_Yuzuki?_

"Yeah?" she asked.

_You know they'll figure it out, right?_

The young girl waited for a moment before saying anything. To wait was not in her nature. She was blunt, honest—most of the time—and showed no fear. But now?

"I guess…" she finally said.

_I thought you thought Father was the most awesome person in the planet._

"He is," she said hotly, a defensive fire kicking in.

_Then try to have a bit of faith in him. He and mommy will get us home._

Yuzuki paused for a moment, taking in her brother. As empathetic as mom with the intelligence and calmness of daddy. What was that Aunt Aya sometimes called him?

"You really are an old soul, aren't you?" she asked. The young boy shrugged.

Personally, she would have frowned.

* * *

"So let me get this straight, the kids really are Jou-chan's and Naru's lovechildren from the future?" Bou-san asked once more. "And you want everyone's expertise to try and figure out how to send them back?"

"Or at least toss out enough stupid ideas to make Big Boss spill," Yasuhara-san said. The other occupants of the room turned to look at the man, as if a combined effort from all of their piercing eyes would open the aperture and impart on them the wisdom that lay contained in that ever-complex mind of his.

It did nothing of the sort.

"So if Naru and Jou-chan get married now, it'd only be for the kids? Wouldn't that be unhappy?" Bou-san asked, glaring in the direction of the twenty year old man. Lin knew Noll had heard that, given the fact that his ear twitched ever so slightly.

"Bou-san, do you really think I'd do that?!" Taniyama-san asked in a harsh whisper. Unsurprisingly, her face was beet red as she lectured the overly protective man. "First of all, that isn't really what this meeting is about, it's about getting Yui and Kazi back home. Second of all, if/when I get married, I'm going to make sure that person loves me. Even though having kids is in the future a wonderful idea, it wouldn't be right without loving the father and having him love me back."

Noll twitched again. Honestly, how did none of the others notice? Well, perhaps Taniyama-san did. Bou-san raised his hands in defeat.

"Fine, fine. So, anyone got any ideas?" the bassist asked, turning to everyone.

"We could find a natural black hole and go from there," Yasuhara-san chimed in. "There are lots of them!"

"Yes, but I do believe they reside in space," Hara-san pointed out. She and Brown-san seemed to be just as perplexed by the news, but also seemed to be taking it in stride. "Is there a chance I could peer into the scientific community to find an expert on the subject?"

"Who knows how long that could take?" Taniyama-san said. "The longer we wait, the longer their parents wait to have them home. The longer they're stuck here. I want to find something that can send them home as quickly as possible."

"Mai, this is _time travel_. I'm sure we could pop them back to the day they got taken," Matsuzaki-san tossed in. Taniyama-san took in this information with wide eyes.

"Oh yeah... I forgot about that. Well, I guess you could try that, Masak—"

"Mai, with me," Noll said, grabbing his coat. Taniyama-san spluttered her usual complaints before hurrying after him. Naturally, all eyes fell to Lin for explanation. Unlike most other times, he decided to oblige them.

"I believe he's heard quite enough 'stupid ideas'," Lin informed the lot of them. While many of the others nodded, Yasuhara-san chuckled.

"And here I was about to suggest a time capsule!"

* * *

"Naru!" Mai yelled when she left the warmth of the office. It was freezing outside! "What's the big deal? Why'd we have to come out here?"

He had stopped right at the base of the stairs and was looking at her through serious, albeit curious, eyes. The look was rare, and it might have even taken her breath away a little bit, but that did not change the fact that she was cold.

"Nar—"

"Mai, I have an idea and I want to run it by you first, so just stop for a moment and listen to me for once." Mai had no idea if he meant that as derogatory or a barely-concealed plea hidden in authoritative tones. She would have liked to believe the latter as she nodded her head with narrowed eyes.

"Right now, you've only begun to scratch the surface of what you can do. We built up enough energy to wake Gene and it only takes a bit more to reach half of what Yuizuki and Kazuki accomplished. If we combine that energy with their energy, we could recreate what happened to them and send them further backwards. Only a bit less would send them forwards."

"It takes more energy to send them backwards than forwards?" Mai asked, not able to help herself.

"Yes. If we were to do it the long way—wrapping them in energy and putting them in a sleep for however many years—that would take even less. The problem with that is hiding children away for an unspecified amount of time."

"Okay... So what's your idea?" she asked.

"Sending them forward in a way similar to the way they came back. If they are outside the timeline for a moment, they can reenter when someone or something pulls on them. Theoretically, we should...be close...when it is time for them to reenter the timeline," Naru said. The way he faltered at 'be close' caught Mai's ear.

Somehow, the way he said that made her heart sting. Like he was uncertain such a thing would happen at all.

"Naru, what happens if they remain outside the timeline for too long?" she asked. The way his shoulders rose briefly and ever-so-slightly could only be classified as a shrug. "Naru?"

"I'd think that they'd cease to exist. The human body might die, but they wouldn't have a future to return to," he said, his eyes cast off. "It would mean the lives they knew didn't exist anymore, which could lead to them not existing in the first place."

Mai was silent for a moment afterwards. The children were a product of a future where she and Naru fell in love and had children. Given that Yuzuki looks up to her daddy while Kazi has a soft spot for mom, she would assume they were happily living together. She sighed. That future could never come to pass, and if it did not then no harm would come to the children. They would simply not exist.

It was difficult to come to terms with it in those specifics, but those were the options. She would never force Naru to do anything he did not want to when it concerned her and if he did not feel the same way she felt about him then she would let him go and the children would simply disappear.

A feeling of warmth blossomed gently on her cheek. When had she begun to shed tears? How had she not noticed Naru reaching forward to take them away?

"Naru—"

"Mai, if you choose to pursue me, there is a chance I could hurt you," he said. His voice was firm as always, with no room for questions or doubts. She opened her mouth, but he only continued. "You told me in no uncertain terms that you love me. I know that's a fact now. The problem is that I could kill you. Even though you've begun to learn how to prevent that from happening, there is still a chance that you could end up in the ICU if we go too swiftly."

Mai searched his eyes, attempting to get what she could from them. They were so open for her to read, but she could not find that which she wanted to know.

"Naru, I only need to know one thing. Out of everything else, I only need to know one thing."

His eyes gained an intensity that she was not quite sure she could handle. But she did. Somehow, she did. Her next words came out in a breathy whisper.

"Do _you_ want us to work? Not for them, but for us..."

Logically, it was necessary for him to come closer in order to hear what she had just said. It had been spoken softly, so he needed to hear. It made sense. She opened her mouth to ask again despite how nervous she felt. Where had all her courage gone?

"N-Naru—"

Her voice was so faint she could barely hear it herself.

"Yes."

Mai's eyes widened and she would have opened her mouth to speak, but something very amazing happened to her. Naru had sealed her lips with the smallest and most chaste of kisses, but she knew he meant it. It was a question, a claim, and a promise all in one. Sure, he was a bit clumsy and got the side of her lip instead, but she thought that meant he was just as nervous as she.

She stepped a touch closer to him, not once turning away from his piercing blue eyes. She stood on her toes and gave him a small kiss in return. An answer. A promise. A claim.

When she opened her eyes once more, she was able to view Naru's somewhat surprised face. He was older now. He had a strong jaw line. His eyes were still that same blue and were still somehow able to communicate his intelligence and true personality all at once. He was not openly kind and nor was he ever going to be. But this. This trust and love. This was hers to enjoy.

"Mai..." he said. He did not say another word for a moment, but he also said everything. The way he moved, how he looked at her, how she could see him—really see _him_—right now. She could see what he was struggling to put to words.

After a while, he still said nothing. But that was okay. She reached out for his hand and held it with a smile. Nothing needed to be said right now. They both understood.

"Come on," he said, pulling her towards the office in his normal stride. "Only an idiot runs out in January without a coat on."

Moment shattered.

"Naru!"

He was a narcissistic, evil, horrible jerk.

She smiled.

But he was her narcissistic, confusing, somehow lovable jerk.

* * *

"Why do we hafta go all the way out here for it?" Yuzuki asked. She took in the amount of space they had around them. It was a clear open field and there was no one else around for miles and miles and miles. Kazuki already knew why, but he wanted mommy to explain it.

"The energy we release could do something to the environment. We're going to try to minimize the damage as much as we can, but there aren't any promises," mommy explained. Kazuki's grip on her hand tightened.

_Yuzuki?_

"Yeah?" she asked aloud. She liked doing that.

_You know this is the last time we'll see mommy and Father like this, right?_

"Yeah, so?" she asked. She did not turn around and her brother knew what that meant.

_Can you tell them goodbye for me? And thank you for taking care of us?_

"It's not 'goodbye'!" she said. "It's 'I'll see you later'. We're too awesome for goodbyes."

Kazuki smiled. His sister was just being stubborn. So was he, come to think of it. He took off his gloves and shoved them into his pocket. He grabbed mommy's hand then Father's.

_She's acting funny right now because she's kind of sad to go,_ he 'said'. Mommy looked down at him with a surprised look on her face. He grinned. _You already know who we are, so you won't ask me how come you can hear me anymore._

"You're very intelligent," Father remarked.

_I hope so,_ Kazuki grinned. _I have good teachers._

"Who...?"

_Sorry, can't tell, mommy. I can't spoil it for you._

Mommy frowned at that, but that was because she never liked secrets. He knew that, but he could not say too much. They already knew a whole bunch despite him and his sister trying to keep it from them. Mommy and Father were always very good at rooting out secrets like that.

_So how do we do this, Father?_

Father looked around the field. Out past the trees were Uncle Yasu and Uncle Lin with their cell phones just in case something bad happened to mommy and Father.

"Mai and I will send you two outside the timeline like you were when you first came here," Father explained. "You and your sister will raise as much energy as you safely can while Mai and I gather the rest. When you're outside the timeline, your sister will be the one who will have to find my energy and bring you home. I've given her a little jolt of it so she can recognize it when it comes."

_How will you know when to call for us? Will we be waiting long?_

"An explosion of PK energy is not difficult to trace. I will wait eleven days after that to send out a signal."

_Why so long? Why not as soon as we leave? Won't you and mommy miss us?_

Father sighed. "You've been gone for eleven days. Should we place you exactly when you left, it would be as though those days did not happen. But you will have that time robbed from you. This way, you can immerse yourself back into normal life and should anyone ask what happened to you, you can tell them."

_Oh... I think I get it..._

"Is there anything you or your sister would like to mention before we get started? Once begun, the process will be difficult to halt and even harder to start again," Father warned. Kazuki thought about it for a moment.

_Yuzuki?_

"Nah. It's not like we won't see you guys again," his sister said. Kazuki sighed. She was still being stubborn.

_She means we'll see you as soon as we can._

"Yeah, that," she agreed, a frown on her face. "It's not goodbye, it's 'see you later'!"

"All right. We'll see you later," mommy said, smiling. She took Yuzuki into a hug and even though Kazuki knew the girl would usually fight it, she just let it happen. Then mommy turned to give him a hug. Like always, he held on as tightly as he could. Even though she did not know him all the way yet, this was still his mommy. When mommy let go, he turned to Father. Yuzuki had clamped onto his arm, making the man who was not quite their Father yet have to work to give her an awkward tap on the back. A farewell of sorts. Kazuki grinned before deciding to help Father out.

_Ok. We're ready._

Father nodded and Yuzuki let go of him. Kazuki let go of the adults and grabbed his sister's hand.

"Remember, not too much. It hurt last time," Yuzuki warned. Kazuki frowned.

_Okay, okay. Besides, mommy and Father are helping us this time._

His sister did not get a chance to retort as he began passing the energy. It went back and forth. Carefully, slowly, just as they were taught the right way. Kazuki watched as the air around him and his sister changed, morphing into raw energy. He watched as mommy and Father's energy did the same. It was light, but there was more cracks in the wall than he was used to. It was newer than he had ever seen before.

The energy continued to swell until mommy and Father's covered his and Yuzuki's. The light began to burn brighter and brighter and Kazi felt his control slipping, a bit like when they had first come. He raised his hand in a wave that he was unsure his parents had seen.

And then he was so weak.

* * *

Yuzuki remembered this place. She was not awake and nor was she asleep. She was not on the astral plane either. This was a dark expanse where she and her brother merely floated.

"I guess it's not so bad here," she said aloud, looking at the multiple strings that hung around. "I don't have a bedtime in here, huh, _Kazi_?"

_You can stop calling me that now..._

"Aw, but that's no—"

_Yui..._

"Hey! No fair!" the girl yelled. "You know I don't like it when anyone calls me that. My name is Yu-zu-ki! It's much more awesome than Yui!"

_Then stop calling me that._

"_Fine_," Yuzuki huffed. She looked around for the right string to pull. There were several of different widths and colors. There was a tiny red one, a rope-sized green one, a black one that looked about as big as her arm. But none of these were it.

_Did it take this long last time?_

"Time doesn't work here, remember?" Yuzuki growled. But her brother was right. Why was it taking so long? They were outside the—

"Woah!" she cried as a huge rope—the size of her head in width—came towards them. It was the same color as daddy's PK and felt like him and mom. "Found it."

_Then let's grab it and go home!_

"Okay, okay!"

* * *

"Oof!" As anticlimactic as it was, that was the first word Yuzuki uttered when she fell onto something warm. Kazuki slammed down beside her with no noise.

"Yui! Yui!"

_Yui?_ the girl thought dismally. _I thought..._

"Souta, don't crowd her like that," Aunt 'Doka chided. "She needs to breathe."

"Yuzuki! Kazuki! Wake up!" another voice said. Now that the stars were going away, Yuzuki could recognize it.

_Amaya?_ her brother thought.

"He's awake!" the girl cried. She must have been holding his hand or something. Ever since the last case, she had been doing a lot of that to 'hear' her brother.

"Kazi-kun!" another voice cried. "Don't leave our love like that again!"

"Hey, hey, Jun. You might want to give the kid some space," Uncle Bou-san said to his son. "You, too, Amaya-chan."

There were groans of protest as the children were shuffled away. Yuzuki opened her eyes. Kazuki and mom were 'talking' quietly. A low murmur in her mind that she had neither the desire nor energy to listen in on. Kazuki hugged mom tightly and she pressed a kiss on his head.

"Yuzuki Amelia Davis," her daddy said. The warm surface she landed on moved and tickled like it did whenever she put her head on daddy's chest. "You're late."

"No, I'm not!" the girl cried, sitting up. Her daddy was tall and had black hair, but he still has his reading glasses on. "It took me a second to find it! 'Sides! You were late!"

Her daddy smiled at her, the only smile his family ever got, before he pulled her into a hug. She could not help the fact that she hugged him back with all her might. "I missed you..."

"I know. We missed you two very much," daddy said. "But if you ever try that again, you'll both be grounded."

"Drat."

_**AmyNChan: Okay, after this I'm gonna give an epilogue so we can have an even thirty chapters. XD**_

_**Mai: So it's not completely done quite yet.**_

_**Naru: And your next project?**_

_**AmyNChan: Will be discussed in the epilogue. XD Later all! Please read and review~! *^_^***_


	30. Epilogue: Home

_**AmyNChan: Okay, here's the epilogue. I hope you all enjoy. *^_^***_

_**Mai: Amy-chan doesn't own Ghost Hunt!**_

April 29, 2004

"…and that's what happened," Yuzuki finished up, telling the story with as much flair and gusto as she could muster. Which was quite a lot. She and Kazuki were sitting with their friends in the office while the adults all talked on the big couches about what had happened last week. She had missed having the table for the awesome. 'Kid's table'. Yeah, right. It was the awesome people's table.

"Wasn't it scary?" Amaya asked, her eyes wide. She was uncle Yasu's daughter, but had her mom's hair. Yuzuki shook her head.

"Not for me! I'm—"

"We know, Yui," Souta said, a small smile on his face. He had his father's expression of calmness at the moment, but the raven haired girl knew he could be just as mischievous as Aunt 'Doka sometimes. Like mother like son, she guessed. "You're awesome…"

"Don't call me Yui," the girl groaned.

"Why not?" Jun asked. He had somehow gotten on top of Kazuki and was leaning on his head with his arms crossed. "Mom and dad said that that's what you guys told them to call you when you were there."

"Wait, you knew? How come we didn't know? She didn't say that in her story…" Amaya asked, turning to the red haired boy. He shrugged.

"Mom and Dad aren't very quiet with their secrets sometimes."

All of the children nodded in agreement. Uncle Bou-san and Aunt Aya could get really loud sometimes. But that meant that Jun sometimes knew what he was going to get for Christmas or his birthday a bit too early. And almost nothing is worse than knowing you're going to get a toy and not being able to play with it.

_Jun, can you please get off me now?_ Kazuki asked from underneath the boy's arms. The young trickster only grinned.

"But this is the only way I can hear my beloved Kazi-kun's voice!" he announced. Kazuki shuddered as he normally did. He would have fled, but he was a little bit trapped.

"Come on, Jun," Amaya said, attempting to resolve the issue. Her hand had been on Kazuki's arm so she could hear him and have him included in the conversation as well. "He did say 'please'."

"I—"

"Jun, it's time to go home," Uncle Bou-san said. Aunt Aya was already waiting for them both by the door, her large purse over her shoulder. "Didn't you want to stop by the store?"

"Oh yeah!" the young boy cried, getting off of Kazuki instantly. As he ran out, he flashed a grin in his friends' direction. "See you tomorrow!"

"We should head out, too, Amaya-chan," Uncle Yasu said as he came to the awesome people's table. "Your mom wants to visit the Browns."

"Ew… not the stinky baby…" the young Davis groaned even though she had not been the one being addressed.

"Yuzuki! How many times have I told you to stop that? Emi Brown is not a stinky baby," mom reprimanded. Even though Yuzuki knew the woman was not going to do anything about it, the words themselves made her scowl.

_Besides, she doesn't really stink all that much anymore…_Kazuki tried to point out.

"She still wears those stinking things on her butt," Yuzuki maintained. "She's still a—"

"Yuzuki…" her daddy warned. She chose not to finish that sentence because she was awesome.

"Yeah, come on, Yui," Souta said. "You know you missed her when you guys went on your little 'trip'."

"Don't call me 'Yui'. My name is 'Yu-zu-ki'!" the girl repeated. Just as Souta was about to retort—probably calling her _Yui_ again—she was saved.

"Come on, Souta. We need to work on your training. Jiyuu has been waiting all day," Uncle Lin said. Souta frowned slightly—probably because he hadn't been able to tease her again (_ha!_)—but soon turned towards the door where his mom waited. Right as they left, he decided to say it anyways.

"See you tomorrow, Kazuki! Bye, Yui!"

"Why you—!" But he was already gone.

"Hard to believe he'll be six soon…" mom said. Yuzuki was not paying attention. That Souta always knew how to push her buttons…

* * *

_Father?_ Kazuki asked as they walked home. Mommy and Yuzuki were off ahead with mommy chasing Yuzuki around. Kazuki knew his sister had missed the rambunctious play with mommy, even if she would not admit it. _Can I ask you something?_

_You may_, his father responded. Kazuki smiled. He missed talking to Father like this. The smile went away as soon as he remembered what he was going to ask.

_Those people… the ones who took us… what happened to them?_

A period of silence went on. Kazuki worried whether or not they had been caught and arrested. Bad guys often went to jail if they were still alive. If they were not, then they either got cleansed or exorcized.

_Those men died in an explosion._

Kazuki blinked.

_An…explosion?_

_Their spirits remained long enough to relieve their consciences. They spoke with Uncle John for a few hours before admitting who it was that put them up to stealing you. And then they left._

…_Father?_

The look his father gave him made his next question peter out before it could be actively transmitted. He decided to leave the matter alone.

"Come on, slowpokes!" Yuzuki called from up ahead. "Mom and I are gonna beat you home and then I get all the omlettes to myself!"

_Omlettes are a breakfast food, Yuzuki._

"I'm still gonna eat 'em!"

Kazuki managed a small smile. It was good to be home.

* * *

The children were both asleep on their beds. Oliver and Mai knew they would usually stay awake for the hour it took them to crawl into their bed and both wondered if they would remain asleep or still somehow find their way there in the middle of the night.

"What kind of person would put children through all of that for _luck_?" Mai whispered as she shut the door. Oliver frowned.

"The kind of person this world is better off without."

His wife shuddered at the memory and Oliver wrapped her in his arms. She held onto his form tightly, taking deep breaths. They both knew what he had done for their family. They both knew that no one could ever convict him of doing it. And they both knew it was a sin they would bear together.

"Naru?" she asked. He hummed in response, not really bothering to say a word right now. He was content right here with his wife in his arms and his children safe. After a week and a half of Hell, he was content to have his family safe and by his side. What he had done to get it that way was not of importance now.

"I love you."

He kissed the top of her forehead. While he would always have trouble saying it aloud, the feeling he had for her and the twins was real. Real as anything could possibly be and stronger than anything he had ever known.

He loved his wife and his family. He was proud of his children for how they had handled the entire situation. And now he was ready to put this whole time traveling mess behind them for good.

"So when do you think Yuzuki will learn what eloping is?" Mai asked, her voice teasing. Oliver shot his wife a glare.

She laughed while his mind conjured a nightmare of his daughter in white. It was still too soon to put ideas like that in their daughter's head.

_**AmyNChan: Okay, a few things before I go. First: I wanted to leave you guys with the timeline I worked with so you guys would be able to write for Yui and Kazi and the gang if you wanted to.**_

1974 is when Naru and Gene are born  
1982 is when Naru and Gene are adopted  
1990 is when Gene dies  
1991 is when Mai is in 10th grade  
1992 is when series ends, Naru is 18, Mai is 16  
John is 20  
1993 is when Mai starts college  
1994 is when Madoka leaves, Mai becomes vigilante  
1995 is when Lin and Madoka get married (September)  
**1996-1997 is where Yui and Kazi find themselves, Naru is 22, Mai is 20 (December)  
**John turns 25 Jan 5, 1997, Masako is 20**  
**1997 is when Ayako and Bou-san are married (June) and when Mai finishes business degree and starts training to be a partner in SPR  
1998 is when Naru and Mai are married (April)  
1998 is when Souta was born (May 15)  
1998 is when Masako and John get married (December 23 [was gonna be Dec. 21, but Yui and Kazi had other plans. XDDD])  
1998 is when Yui and Kazi are born. Naru is 24, Mai is 22 (December 21[they were a few weeks early, but healthy kids. Gave Naru and Mai quite the scare. XD])  
1999 is when Jun was born (March 1)  
1999 is when Amaya was born (June 10)  
2003 is when Emi was born (July 29)  
January 2004 is Yui and Kazi's year, Naru is 29, Mai is 27, Yui and Kazi are 5  
2014 is when Naru is 40, Mai is 38, Yui and Kazi are 16

_**AmyNChan: Second, I wanted to thank you guys for enjoying this. It was a pleasure to write. *^_^***_

_**Mai: What's your next writing adventure gonna look like?**_

_**AmyNChan: Actually, I'm going back and rewriting something that never got an ending.**_

_**Mai: There's a story you didn't finish writing?!**_

_**AmyNChan: Yup. If any of you have read the Black Cat manga, I'm going back, rewriting, and FINISHING my largest project of that fandom I ever attempted.**_

_**Naru: How long will this take?**_

_**AmyNChan: No idea. But don't worry, I'll still participate in all of the weeks Snav's got going on and oneshots may also come while I'm working on this project. *^_^***_

_**Mai: So it's not goodbye?**_

_**AmyNChan: Nah. Just a 'see ya later'. *^_^***_

_**Mai: Oh. Okay.**_

_**AmyNChan: Until then, please keep reading and writing, everybody~! *^_^***_


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